Choice
by BerrySorbet
Summary: What do you look for in a Yuffentine? Humour, romance, action, jealousy and a kick ass plot line? This one's got it all! And it all started with a pirate named Keto...
1. Chapter 1

A cool breeze ran through the palm trees in Akanji Harbour and the heat floated down the sun's warm rays, the pale blue sea drifting in and out of the bay. There wasn't much to see on Akanji Island, it was once home to an ancient civilisation that has long since died out, now the locals think it is a haunted place that brings bad luck to those who enter. But still a lone fishing boat hung off the edge of the rotten wooden pier, and a boy sat near dipping his feet into the warm ocean below. He watched as brightly coloured fish came towards the surface and danced through the waves, making him laugh as they dived in and out of the water. His head jerked up when a rustling sound could be heard from the island. The green bushes just off shore jerked away from each other as a figure emerged from between the two. The boy knew this figure and smiled while turning back towards the fish that had entertained so well, his father had returned safely.

His father worked along side Shinra and was always going on dangerous journeys to places they were not allowed to travel to in case of ambush. It was a dangerous job but he made his family proud and always took care of himself, this was the first time he'd allowed his son to come with him.

Heavy footsteps thumped up the pier towards the fishing boat and deep voice broke the silence in the wind."Get your feet out of the water, Keto, you know there are sharks around here." He waited patiently by the boat for his son to find his shoes.

"What did you find dad?" Keto got to his feet and ran down the pier to meet his father. He motioned with his eyes for Keto to get the boat first. Keto clambered in and then looked up at his father, his eyes glistening with excitement.

"That's classified business, though incredibly important and the sooner we get off this island the better."Keto saw his father's lips form a slight smile, he was going to tell him on the way back.

A sharp sound whistled through the air towards them both, and his smile wavered as he looked down at his stomach. There was a jagged metal object sticking out of him, bloody stains covering it.

"Dad!" Keto jumped out of the boat and caught his father before he fell head long onto the planks. They stared at each other for seconds before Keto finally pushed past the lump in his throat. "Father."

His eyes rolled back into his head and his body toppled out if his son's arms. His right arm unfolded from the corpse and a piece of parchment fell from his fingertips, rolling off the planks and into the sea.

--

Seven years later... "Order! Order I say!" A hammer was thrown fiercely in the court as a miserable Keto stood in front of the judge, hands tied behind his back. "What is the charge?"

"Dealing with pirates, your honour."The snivelling wretch of a lawyer murmured, beaming at the judge.

The six foot beefy judge scratched the bristles on his cheek before continuing. "The death penalty." He stated, letting his hammer fall once again.

Keto's heart sank as two officers dragged him out of the courtroom, this was it. _No, I've come this far!_ His eyes narrowed as the the doors shut behind him. "Sorry gentlemen." He said, pulling away from the soldiers. He threw up a jeaned leg and caught one between the eyes, he was instantly knocked out. The other raised his sword and held it to Keto's neck. Keto smiled and flicked his hands around. He cut the rope binding his hands and pushed the sword out of the soldiers hands. With a whack on the head from the hilt of the sword, the second soldier was out cold. Keto dropped the sword by the limp bodies and walked out of the state building.

The fresh night air cooled his mind and cleared his thoughts. _Where to go next?_ His shoes scuffed against the walkways of Edge and he closed his eyes, listening to the sounds of the city. A cat meowed somewhere nearby and drunk laughter filled his ears. This was a strange and distant land to the village he had once lived in as a boy, but that was in the past and could not be changed.

Something shoved into Keto's shoulder and he immediately attacked, throwing the person into the wall beside him, hands around their neck. Opening his eyes, he blinked. "Oh, Sorry." He muttered, staring into the girls eyes.

She stared for a few seconds before speaking. "...That's okay." She flicked her wrist and grabbed Keto by the arm, now throwing him against wall and locking his arm behind his back. She let him struggle for a moment before letting go and walking away.

Keto watched the girl walk through the street lights and around the corner. Edge sure was a strange place for a foreigner. He clicked his wrist and ran after young women.

"Hey!" He shouted. She didn't respond. "Hey!" This time Keto grabbed the girl's arm and swung her round to face him. He was met with a fist. Keto stumbled backwards and pushed his nose back in place. "Who are you?!"

"Watch it." She said, walking away again.

"Wait! Who are you?" The girl kept walking and Keto knew better than to go after her again. Blood dripped onto his white shirt and wind picked up. He sighed slowly before walking back the way he came.

The streets were empty at the time and Keto could hear soldiers shouting far away, probably to find him. He walked briskly round another corner and pushed open a door to a small bar.

The bar maid looked up from wiping the counter and smiled at him. "Welcome, what can I get you?"

Keto checked his jeans pocket and counted the few coins he had left. "I'll have a beer." He replied, taking a seat on one of the stools.

She nodded politely and turned around to get a glass. The door behind Keto jingled and footsteps followed into the room. "Jeez Teef, what's the world coming to? I just got assaulted by some guy in the street! I kicked ass, of course, but why was he even trying to kill me? All I did was bump into h..." The girl stopped and stared wide eyed at Keto. "You! Y-You stalker!"

Keto turned his stool back around and put his chin in his hands. "I apologise." He muttered.

The bar maid glanced between the two before cautiously putting the drink in front of Keto's elbow. "So you two know each other?"

The young girl huffed before striding round the counter and slamming the door behind her.

Keto sipped his drink and watched as the bar maid worked around him. He finally broke the silence. "Excuse me, but I'm new around here, I don't suppose you could help me?"

"What do you need?"

Keto looked down at his drink. "There's a man who lives in Edge, I need to find him. His name's Vincent Valentine." The bar maid hesitated slightly in what she was doing. "Have you heard of him?"

A chilling voice called out from behind him. "Depends who wants to know." Keto threw himself around to come face to face with the famous assassin he had been looking for for weeks, no, months.

"It's you..." The man looked up at Keto. "It's finally you."

"Who are you?" His black hair flowed out of red cloth wrapped around his head and a long, scarlet, bedraggled cloak touched to the floor behind him. Plates of gold glistened all over his body and three guns smiled inside he many belts.

Keto opened his mouth but shut it quickly as a group of soldier ran past the windows. He looked back at the bar maid. "Sorry about this." He apologised, before jumping with ease over the counter and crouching behind it.

The bar maid stared at him with shock. "What are you-"

Seconds later the door jingled and running men burst into the bar. "Excuse me, have either of you two seen a man in a white shirt and jeans?" One of the officers asked, eyeing Vincent suspiciously.

Tifa looked into the pleading eyes of the man behind the counter. "I'm sorry, I haven't had any customers this evening as you described." The officer nodded at her answer.

"What about you?" He added cautiously.

Vincent hesitated and Keto held his breath behind the counter. "Nothing." He stated.

The officers looked him up and down one last time before disappearing into the night once again.

"So, the guards are after you... Why is that?" Vincent asked, walking to the other side of the room.

Keto jumped out of his hiding place and looked nervously at the windows. "I escaped from the courtroom."

"Why were you there?" A girl ran into the room from behind the counter but immediately back away with a sharp look from the group.

"I was getting the death penalty." The bar maid gasped and laid a worried hand on Keto's shoulder.

"Why was that?"

Keto was getting slightly unnerved by the questions but knew he had to answer them if Vincent were to trust him. "Piracy."

Vincent chuckled darkly. "They would never give you the death penalty for something as small as that. You must have done something they don't want anyone to know about, am I right?"

Keto closed his eyes. "I don't know. Will you please just help me?"

Vincent shuffled in his place. "Fine."

Keto nodded and sat back down in his seat.

"What do you need?"

I need you to kill someone. They killed my father and have hunted me down for years for reasons not known to myself."

Vincent's eyes pierced into him. "Who?"

"...Rufus Shinra."


	2. Chapter 2

"Rufus Shinra?" Vincent repeated.

"Yes... His father killed my father seven years ago."

There was a moment of silence when no one knew what to say.

The barmaid coughed loudly before continuing. "Er, I'm gonna go check on Yuffie." She threw the dirty dishcloth back in the sink and pushed through the door behind her.

Keto waited until he heard her footsteps fade. "Will you help me?"

Vincent stared at the floor for a few seconds before standing up. "I'm sorry, I don't do that any more. Find someone else." He walked towards the edge of the bar but was blocked by Keto.

"Hey! Who else am I going to find? No one else is going to want to fight Shinra!"

Vincent walked around him. "No."

Keto jumped over the bar and stopped Vincent in his tracks. "My father told me you were a brilliant man. I've searched all over the _world_ for you. Are you really going to deny me this chance?"

Vincent's scarlet eyes bore into him. "Get out of my way."

Keto looked up at him for one last moment before letting him pass. He slammed his fist hard on the bar as Vincent left and he sat down on wooden floors behind the counter.

"What am I supposed to do now?" He said to himself. His face was tired and grey, he hadn't slept since he'd been caught over three days ago.

"Here." Replied a voice behind him. A bottle of Vodka was waved in his face and a small feminine hand was attached to it. He looked above him to find a small woman's head peeking from behind the counter with a smirk on her face. "It'll make you feel better..." She said waving the bottle around more.

Keto frowned. "How did you get in here?" _Or rather how much did you hear?_

"Wouldn't you like to know." She answered. The bottle was then removed from in front of Keto's face and the girl's head disappeared. Seconds later, she had flung herself over the counter top and was sitting beside Keto. "I'm a ninja!"

"A ninja." Keto said, sarcasm thick in his voice. He raised an eyebrow.

The girl scowled at him. "Yeah, I am!" She opened the bottle, still in her hand, and took a swig. "How else would I have gotten away from you earlier?"

Keto's mind flashed back to this evening when he had mistaken her for a cop. "Fluke." He stated, snatching the bottle from her. "You shouldn't drink, you're under-age."

She snorted. "Like that matters, and anyway, I'm older than you!" The girl pulled back her short black hair behind one ear and lunged at the Vodka.

Keto held it away at arms length and looked her up and down. She was probably about the same age as him, but her height was why he mistook her as younger. He took a gulp from the bottle and handed it back to her, choking slightly. "Man, what is that stuff?!"

She shrugged. "It's the only stuff Tifa doesn't hide." She pulled the bottle back. "Now I can see why."

Keto smirked. "A great ninja like you couldn't find a few bottles of decent alcohol? Shame on you!"

"Of course I could! But unlike you, I can actually hold my drink!" She said slurring a tiny bit.

He laughed. "I can see that."

"Yuffie." The girl replied.

"Keto." He said, taking the drink off her and throwing back a few more gulps. "But that stuff is fowl!"

"Better than nothing!" Yuffie smiled at him and leaned on his shoulder. Keto smiled back.

An hour later and they were on their second bottle.

"Aw no! There's only that much left!" Shouted Yuffie, poking the side of the bottle viciously.

The door to the bar swung open and an old man hobbled inside.

Yuffie propped herself up behind the counter and shouted at the old man. "Go away! We're not customer serving!" She frowned at the strange sounded sentence that had just come out of her mouth but dismissed it and plopped herself back on the floor with Keto.

"You're drunk!" He giggled, taking a swig from the bottle.

Yuffie gasped. "I am not! I'll have you know ninjas can't _get_ drunk!" She frowned again. "Well, some can... But not ones that have defeated the mighty Sephiroth!" She cried triumphantly.

Keto started to choke. "You! You defeated Sephiroth? I thought AVALANCHE did!" He said, poking her in the forehead.

She swatted him away with one hand and rolled over so she was lying on her back. "I'm _in _AVALANCHE you...you... Idiot!" She looked over at him and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Really?" Keto was only tipsy and he actually took this information in.

"Really! _I _am the great ninja, Yuffie Kisaragi!" She shouted, raising a fist in the air.

Keto blinked a few times and stared at the floorboards beneath his feet. "Really..." He whispered.

Yuffie stirred slightly next to him and brought Keto out of his thoughts. He looked over and smiled. Her small face was at peace and she slept silently, her arms draped across the floor. Keto sighed heavily and put the Vodka bottle down on the floor. He pulled himself up slowly with the support of the counter and stumbled over to Yuffie's unconscious body. He pulled her up into his arms and walked to the back door of the bar.

Just before he was about to push it open with his shoulder, the cloaked man he had seen before pulled on it. He looked from Keto to Yuffie and back again, frowning slightly.

"She had too much to drink." Keto explained.

"She's eighteen."

"I'm seventeen."

"How did you-"

"Never try drinking with a pirate." Keto replied, pushing past Vincent and towards the stairs at the other side of the hall. "Which room is she in?" He asked.

"...Last on the left."

--

Small rays of sunshine penetrated through the wooden blinds of the window and the sweet scent of pancakes wafted in the room. Keto rubbed his eyes and moved his tousled brown hair out of his face. The soft white sheets beneath him stirred slightly as he looked around the room, trying to remember where he was. Cream walls surrounded him and a dark wooden stained wardrobe lay at the end of the bed. Keto turned his head to the side to find a small girl sleeping just centimetres away from him.

The girl stirred and opened her eyes. She blinked twice. "AHHHHH!!!!"

"AHHHHHHH!!" Keto shouted back at her, his head pounding after the drinks last night.

"PEVERT!! AHHHHH!!!!" She screamed, scrambling away from him and pulling covers off the bed to cover herself even though she was still wearing clothes from last night.

The door to the room swung open and a man Keto hadn't seen before wielded a spear above his head. "What the #?$ is happening?!" He shouted.

Both teens went silent and stared at the man in the doorway, both thinking the same thing... _Oops._

The man looked from Yuffie to Keto and exploded in anger. "What's your #?*% problem brat! You woke the whole *&$%£ house up!"

Vincent appeared behind him, his cloak gone but there was gun in his hand, pointed straight at Keto's head. "Get out." He demanded, he looked ready to pull the trigger.

Keto panicked, jumping out of the bed and backing away slowly.

"Hey! Both of you stop it!" Yuffie shouted, walking between the Keto's head and the gun. "He hasn't done anything wrong!"

"Well why were you #$%$ screaming then?!" The man shouted, threatening her with his spear.

"I was just _surprised_!" She screamed, slamming the door in the their faces and locking it. "Jeez Cid, talk about personal space!"

"What #^%$ personal space?! You shouted 'pervert'!" He yelled from behind the door.

"Go away Cid! You too, Vince!" She stamped her foot on the floor and huffed, waiting for them to go. When she finally heard them leaving, Yuffie sat herself down on the bed and flopped backwards. "Sorry about that, you scared me." She said smiling up at Keto.

"N-No problem." Keto said, his eyes still fixed on the door and his legs stuck to the floorboards.

"Wow... I really can't remember anything from last night..." Her mind wandered off. "Well I don't know about you but I need a shower, my head feels like it's gonna fall off!" Yuffie jumped off the bed with excellent reflexes and grabbed a towel from a chair at the side of the room. "You can go in after me, or just go downstairs and get some breakfast, it's up to you." She sang, flouncing out the door.

Keto swallowed hard in the empty room and tried to steady his breaths. _They didn't kill you, it's okay. Calm down!_ Once he found his legs could actually move, Keto sat down on the bed and stared at the opposite wall. His mind buzzed with thoughts from the night before and he felt like someone was banging on the side of his head with a concrete cushion.

A sharp knock at the door snapped him out of his day dream and back into reality. "Um, come in."

The barmaid he remembered poked her head round the door and threw a white cotton towel at his feet. "The bathroom's down the hall on the right." She said with smile.

"I thought Yuffie was in the shower?"

"She is, there's two bathrooms." The girl laughed quietly and left again, leaving Keto alone with his thoughts.

He picked up the towel on the floor and walked silently to the bathroom. He hadn't had a shower since the morning he had been captured and the hot water washed away his worries, he felt refreshed again. Keto stepped out of the shower and wrapped the soft towel around his waist, picking up his clothes as he went. He hopped back down the landing and opened up the door he thought was his.

"Hey!" Screamed Yuffie's voice inside. Keto immediately shut the door again and apologised.

"Sorry." He said through the door.

"Give me five minutes." The voice said.

Keto sighed and turned around, leaning his back up against the door. He stood there for only a few moments before a door to his right opened. A tall muscular guy with a gun attached to one arm and walked out and shut the door behind him. He stopped when he saw Keto and looked him up and down.

Keto smiled sheepishly but became very aware that all he was wearing was a towel.

The man looked at him again before walking past and down the stairs.

"All done!" Yuffie sang, opening the door Keto was leaning on.

He fell back with a yelp and landed face up on the floor.

"See ya down stairs." She said, hopping over him and skipping down the hall.

Keto moaned in annoyance at his aching head but got up quickly and shut the door before any other weirdos walked past. He pulled on his shirt and jeans and gave his hair a quick dry with the towel. After checking the room was as he left it (some pirates _do_ have manners), he shut the door behind him and went to see what horrors were waiting for him downstairs.

The room seemed to shake with laughter and chatter as Keto descended the stairs and he could see fresh morning light seeping through the bottom of the door. He cautiously opened it and poked his head round the side. The whole room stopped in unison and stared at Keto.

The barmaid was stood at the top of the room with a little girl in her arms, she smiled at him and nodded. Next to her was a blonde man Keto hadn't met before and next to him was small cat like robot. Opposite to them at the table were the gun-arm man and the spear man he had met before. Well, not met but... Acquainted? Both were half way through shovelling as much food as possible into their mouths. Vincent Valentine sat in the corner next to Yuffie, who was beaming from ear to ear and a lion like creature with a flaming tail lay by their feet.

"Everyone!" Yuffie shouted, jumping on top of her chair. "This is Keto. Keto, this is everyone!"

The whole room stared for a couple more seconds before focusing their attention back to each other and whole room went into mayhem again.

The barmaid caught Keto's attention and signalled for him to go over there. When he had manoeuvred his way around, she pulled a chair out for him and went into the kitchen to get him some food. A boy walked out of the kitchen as the barmaid went in and stared at Keto.

"Denzel." The blonde next to him called. "It's rude to stare." The boy snapped out of it and ran back into the kitchen. "It's Cloud." The blonde said, holding out his hand.

Keto took it appreciatively and nodded. He scratched the back of his head nervously. "Erm, did I leave any materia about last night? I can't find mine..." He asked.

Cloud looked over at Yuffie.

"What?" She asked innocently as a small orb dropped out of her back pocket and rolled along the floor. She looked up and smiled. "How did that get there!" She said, picking it back up and handing it Keto, along with the other three she had stashed in her pockets.

"So." Cloud continued. "Vincent tells me you require his help."

Keto nodded again and thanked the barmaid that had just entered with his breakfast.

"To kill Rufus Shinra?" Cloud asked, one eyebrow raised.

Keto paused slightly and put his fork back on his plate. "His father killed my father, I want to get my revenge." The room's noise had simmered down to a whisper as they tried to eavesdrop on the conversation.

"That's quite a big job, do you know how hard it is to get to Rufus Shinra?"

"Yes, but I thought nothing was impossible for a member of AVALANCHE." The men in the room shuffled slightly in their seats and held their heads higher.

"I don't think he's going to say yes, Vincent's a hard man to convince."

"Oh I know." Indeed Keto did know, and he had already thought of a new plan to get Vincent to co operate. "That's why I was going to ask Yuffie to help me instead."

There was a small choking noise from the other side the room. "Me?!" Yuffie squeaked.

"Yeah, well you told me last night about you're amazing ninja skills." Keto was addressing Yuffie but kept his eyes upon Vincent waiting for him to respond.

Yuffie stayed silent for a few moments before breaking out in a huge smile. "Awesome!" She cried, jumping back out of her seat. "I'm gonna go pack!" With that, she ran out of the room and thudded up the stairs.

The room around Keto stirred as some finished their meals and soon everyone had left but Vincent and himself. Keto got up slowly and took his plate into the kitchen. When he returned Vincent was stood by the window, staring out. Keto cleared his throat quietly and walked towards the door.

"You're smarter than I thought."

Keto stayed facing the door. "Thank you."

"...I'm coming with you."

A small smile graced Keto lips.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: No! I'm not dead! I went on holiday for a week and a bit and couldn't update! I'm sorry! I have been planning this all week, ask LiveLifeLikeNeverBefore! Hopefully the length of the Chapter will make up for it, enjoy!

Yuffie raced down the stairs with a grin on her face and bounced onto Keto who was waiting at the bottom. They landed with a thud on the floor.

"I'm ready!" She giggled, untangling herself from a dazed Keto. She stood above him and held out a hand.

"Right, um, let's go then!" He stuttered, not sure what had just happened. He took Yuffie's hand and dusted himself off, reaching for the door.

"Wait, where's your stuff?" She enquired, grabbing hold of Keto's arm.

"I haven't got anything. Remember what happened last night, police, guards, hiding?"

Yuffie blinked a couple of times before smiling. "Oh yeah! I forgot about that!"

Keto opened the old door and ushered Yuffie out into the warm sunshine. It was about noon by then and sun buzzed with energy in the cloudless sky. Yuffie skipped happily out onto the street and swung her bag around madly. Keto came out to join her and shut the door softly behind him. Yuffie latched herself onto his arm and fired questions at him.

"So where are we going? How are going to get there as well, I don't fancy stealing Cloud's chocobo again, he wasn't too pleased with me last time..." She grinned mischievously and turned herself round to face Keto.

"Where we're going, that's a surprise! But Cid offered to give us a lift there, he's going the same way." Keto looked down at Yuffie and frowned. "What's wrong?"

Her face had visibly paled and turned a slight grey colour, one eye was twitching. "Cid?"

"Yeah.. At least I think it was Cid, the smoky dude that swears all the time? He said it was the least he could do for barging in so rudely this morning."

Yuffie raised a hand up and flicked Keto hard in the forehead. "Idiot." She muttered.

A loud whirring sound could be heard overhead and a huge metal contraption flew into view above the small houses. It lowered itself down onto the old dusty street next to Yuffie and Keto and landed with a clunk. Dust plumed off the floor and covered the two teens standing nearby. The engines softened and all that could be heard were Yuffie and Keto's coughing and Cid's obnoxious laughter. He waved at them from the bridge and disappeared to open the door. The bottom of the Shera slammed to the ground and raised more dust into the air. Cid's lanky figure plodded out and beckoned Yuffie and Keto inside.

"How you doin' brat?" He asked, slapping her on the back. He nodded at Keto and followed them up the ramp.

"Oh great thanks Cid, you know how much I love your Shera!" Yuffie moaned, scuffing her feet on the floor.

"Well I was going today anyway!" He replied and passing her and pulling on a huge rope to close the opening.

"Anymore surprise AVALANCHE guests you wanna tell me about?" She warned Keto, rubbing the dirt off her top.

Keto opened his mouth but closed it again when he spotted their last crew member walking out of the bridge.

"Are you trying to be a fish now? Look, are there more people coming with us or not?" Yuffie demanded, staring up at Keto.

"Yes." Keto said, watching the man walk up behind Yuffie.

"Well who?" She asked again, thinking maybe this wasn't the best idea.

"I believe he means me." The man said.

Yuffie jumped out of her skin and turned round to face him. "Valentine?! I thought you didn't want to come?" She hit him over the shoulder for scaring her.

"I changed my mind." Vincent said, walking past the two and through another door.

Yuffie yelled after him but he didn't respond. She stamped her foot hard on the ground and stormed into the bridge. "Why'd you choose him?" She asked Keto again, who followed after her.

"I thought you liked him." He answered. He'd seen them sitting together at breakfast so he thought they got along. Plus Vincent had been so protective of her that morning, they must have been close...

"Yeah. I do. But he's always so responsible and polite. We won't be able to have any fun!" She complained, running over to the huge window that covered three of the bridge's four walls.

"..." Keto stood next to her and stared out at Edge.

"Going up!" Cid yelled, pushing some buttons and gripping onto the wheel. The whole ship vibrated under the pressure of the engines started to hover just above the ground.

"Oh god, here we go..." Yuffie muttered, her knuckles going white when she held onto the small railing near the window.

"I think I'll use the jet engines today." Cid announced, pressing a few more buttons.

"Cid." Yuffie said in a warning voice, she took one step towards him and took one hand off the bar, raising it towards him. Vincent walked smoothly through the door and stood in the centre of the room, balanced perfectly.

"They're much faster." Cid stopped and grinned at Yuffie.

"NO!" She yelled, taking both hands off the railing and running towards Cid.

Cid pushed a huge red button on his control panel and the entire ship rocketed forwards and out of Edge.

Yuffie, now with nothing to hold onto, flew with a yelp across the room. Just as she was about to hit the other wall, a body stopped her and held onto her tight. Yuffie's eyes squinted open slightly and she looked up at Vincent's concerned face.

"Are you okay?" He asked. The two were pressed up against each other and squished against the wooden walls of the bridge.

Yuffie blinked a couple of times before replying. "Yeah..." She whispered, confused by what had just happened.

"Hold onto something next time." He said, pushing away from her and walking steadily towards the control panel.

Yuffie grabbed hold of the railing and slowly worked herself around until she was standing next to Keto again.

"Are you sure you're okay, you look a bit green?" He asked, pulling her face up into the light.

She pulled her head away from him and leaned heavily against the bar. "I don't like travelling." She mumbled, resting her forehead on her hands.

--

An hour later, Yuffie's head still lay glued to her hands as she tried to keep her footing. They had been travelling for over an hour now and green blurry landscape was making her dizzy.

"Why'd you have to pick a place so far away?" She whined, holding onto her stomach as they turned a corner.

Keto smiled faintly at her but kept his distance, not wanting to get thrown up on.

"Stop #$% complaining brat. We'll have a break here, I need a &*%$ anyway." Cid stomped on his cigarette and pushed the massive wooden wheel away from him, plummeting the ship downwards.

Yuffie and Keto clutched onto the bar with an iron grip as the land came hurtling towards them, yelling at Cid the whole time.

Cid spat on the floor, before pulling the wheel upright just as they reached the grassy planes below. He held them inches from the ground and waited for Yuffie to slowly let go of the railing. As soon as she did, he flicked a switch on the control panel and the machine turned off, jolting it downwards and tipping Yuffie over. With a hearty laugh, he left the bridge, yelling he'd be back in five minutes.

Yuffie groaned from her position on the floor and slowly lifted herself upright.

Keto helped up and steadied her balance.

"Why does he have to be so mean to me! If I didn't have jelly legs right now, I would so go and kick his ass!" She shouted, still swaying slightly.

Keto thought for a second before asking Yuffie an odd question. "Hey, do you have any glue?"

Yuffie blinked at him and frowned. "Why do you want glue?"

"Don't worry, have you got any?" He asked again, taking a step towards the door.

"Urm, I think Tifa left some of Marlene's in her room." She stuttered, completely confused.

Keto ran through the door and off towards the other rooms in the ship. He came back in an instant with a small white tube. "Perfect!" He ran over to the small control panel and opened the cupboard underneath it.

Yuffie walked over and gasped at what was inside. "I can't believe it... You found Cid's secret supply of fags!" She squealed.

"He opened it when he thought no one was looking." Keto replied, laying out piles of packets on top of the control panel.

Yuffie clapped her hand in delight. "What are we going to do with them?" She asked as Keto ripped random packets open and sprayed cigarettes everywhere.

"You'll get it." He said, opening the glue.

Yuffie watched for a few minutes and tried to see what he was creating. "I get it!" She yelled, jumping in for the glue and joining in.

There was a sudden footstep behind them and someone cleared their throat. Both Yuffie and Keto jumped and stood up straight to face their visitor, hiding the master creation behind them.

"..." Vincent froze, looking them both up and down before holding his hand out to Yuffie. "...I found one of the tablets..."

Yuffie ran forward and snatched the small blue pill out of Vincent's glove, gulping it down dry. "Thank you so much Vince!" She gasped, running up and latching herself onto an awkward looking Vincent.

He pushed away her shoulders to make her let go and grunted, walking back out to wherever he was before.

Yuffie waited until she heard his footsteps fade before turning back around and running to Keto. "OK let's finish this!" She shouted, reaching back for the glue.

Keto frowned at her. "What did he just give you?"

"...A hug?" She said, engrossed with the sticky glue.

"No, the pill."

"Oh, it's this really cool drug Vincent found that stops me getting sick when we travel, I thought we were all out, he must of found one somewhere..." She trailed off, cutting something with the scissors they found next door.

"Drugs...?" Keto said, who still wasn't sure what was going on.

"Oh not _those_ kind of drugs! Don't worry it's totally legal! Though it does make me go on a bit of a sugar high... I go off the walls!" She yelled, placing the last item in place. "Perfect! Now we just have to wait until he comes back!"

"Until who comes back?" Cid demanded, strutting back into the bridge. "What're you hiding, brat?"

"You're present." Keto said, stepping to the side of the control panel.

Yuffie did the same. "Ta da!" She sang, holding her arms out towards their creation.

Cid's face froze and flashed white.

"Presenting to you, Cancer Stick Cid!"

The small sculpture stood about 30cm off the ground and wobbled precariously every time someone moved. Each little white stick from Cid's stash had been made into a miniature model Cid, it even had a teeny cigarette sticking out of its mouth.

The real Cid's eye twitched and his face got redder and redder. "YOU &$£% BRAT!" He yelled, spitting at her a bit.

Both creators ran out of the bridge and as far away as possible from Cid, bumping into Vincent on the way.

"Oh hey Vince!" Yuffie said, running behind him. "You wouldn't mind protecting us from crazy Cid would ya?" She asked, peeking over his shoulder.

"What did you do?" He sighed.

"Oi, come back here, you ~£$% brat! I'll teach you to mess with Cid!" Cid stormed round the corner and came face to face with Vincent. "Get out of my ~$%£^ way, vamps, I've got a score to settle with the brat." He tried to dodge round Vincent but wasn't successful.

Vincent turned him round and walked him back to the bridge, murmuring quietly to him the whole time.

"So, did that cheer you up?" Keto asked as he caught his breath.

"Yeah! Though I think it's the pills kicking in..." She muttered. She felt an itch on her arm and scratched it, then realising she had itch somewhere, and somewhere else after that.

Keto watched Yuffie frantically itching her body and asked if she was okay.

"I'm fine, I always get like this after those tablets- Hey! Race you back to the bridge!" Yuffie jumped a foot in the air and ran off at a speed not natural for a human being.

Keto ran after her, trying to make sure she didn't hit anything on the way there...

Ten seconds after they set off, the engines of the Shera started to rumble and sped off the planes South of Junon. Keto watched Yuffie stumble slightly at the movement but she kept her balance, running even faster towards the bridge...

After another half an hour of Yuffie's hyperactivity, she seemed to slow down.

"I'm bored!" Yuffie whined. "How much longer?"

"Not long now." Keto replied, looking out across what seemed like an endless ocean.

"Hey kid, you're going to have to tell me soon where to drop you off, otherwise you're both coming back to Rocket Town with me." Cid yelled over the noise of the engine.

"Ew!" Yuffie shouted. "Like I'd go back home with you." She ran over to the pilot and sniffed him loudly. "You still stink of cigarettes you know, even when you haven't had one in half an hour!" She giggled.

Cid gripped the side wheel tighter, trying to keep his temper.

Yuffie sighed and leaned again the control panel, staring at all the colourful buttons.

"What does this do?" She asked pushing a lime green button. Loud rock music burst through the speakers and deafened the passengers.

Vincent came running in, thinking someone was attacking.

Yuffie pressed the button again to turn it off and smiled sheepishly at Cid. "Sorry... What does this one do?" She asked again, pushing a black button near her hand. Huge black windscreen wipers appeared from either window and wiped the huge windows in one big sweep. "Cool!" She gasped, pressing it again and again.

"Oi!" Cid yelled, grabbing her wrist. "This isn't a #£$ toy brat!"

Yuffie wasn't even looking at him, she was staring at a huge red handle right next to the wheel. As soon as Cid let go of her, she lunged herself on the handle and pulled it downwards.

"NO!" Cid shouted, but it was too late.

The Shera's engines turned off and the huge contraption dropped out of the sky and hurtled down to the sea below.

"Wheeeeee!" Yuffie screeched as they descended, hanging onto the edge of the control panel for support.

Cid was frantically flicking switches and trying to reboot the engines to her right and Keto held nervously to the railing at the front windows. Vincent stood in the centre of the room again, perfectly composed.

A small speck of land below them grew closer and closer as the ship plummeted down, it's golden beaches getting bigger and bigger every second.

"Aw ~*&$€." Cid grumbled, waiting for the impact as the ship hit the beach.

Five seconds later, the Shera crashed to the ground with a smash and grey smoked plumed from its engines.

The crew all fell to the bottom of the ship, which was now the window at the front because the ship landed nose down, and hit the glass below.

After everyone had gotten up and checked they hadn't injured themselves, Cid walked over to Yuffie and hit her lightly on the side of her head. "You ~*&^$£ idiot!" He barked. "Now we're stuck in the middle of $%£ nowhere!"

"Actually, I think we're in the right place." Keto replied, looking out of a crack in the ships roof.

"What're talking about kid, the GPS says there's not supposed to be anything here. This is just a small island no one's been on before." Cid pulled the little yellow box from his pocket and poked it a couple of times. "It still says the same thing."

"That's what everyone thinks." He said, kicking through the broken roof and walking onto the sands of the beach.

"Hey, hey! That costs a ~$%& bundle kid!" Everyone ignored Cid's ramblings and followed Keto out onto the beach.

"Where are we?" Yuffie asked as she stared in awe at the landscape around her.

It didn't look real. The tropical island looked like something out of a fairy tale, golden beaches, palm trees, a turquoise ocean. The jungle to their right was emerald green and filled with strange and unfamiliar sounds and the calm sea lapped just metres away from them.

"To the East is the ruins of the Temple of Ancients and to the West is Gongaga. This is a secret island, known only to those in need of it. Belzeek." Keto smiled and walked away from the broken ship.

Yuffie followed him eagerly, Vincent trailing after them.

"Well I'm not going with you! You can find your own way back!" Cid yelled after them, still inside the bridge.

--

Keto walked them along the shores of Belzeek until they found a small harbour that was hardly noticeable.

"What is this place?" Yuffie asked again, looking at the huge ships in the port.

"Belzeek, it's a pirate island. Hardly anyone knows that it exists." Keto took Yuffie's hand and pulled her along past the port and into the main market area. "I know you've all got a lot of questions so I'll take you somewhere we can talk." He shouted over the noise of the busy market.

They pushed their through the crowded streets following Keto's careful guidance. Yuffie couldn't take her eyes off the colours and smells that surrounded her, she'd never seen anything like this before.

Finally they came to the end of an empty street and Keto pulled a key out of his pocket.

"I own this place." He explained, putting the rusty old key in the lock and opening the creaky door. He put the key on a side table and ushered everyone inside and into another room. A small oak table filled the cramped room and two old seats sat beside it, Yuffie took one, and Keto took the other while Vincent just leant against the door.

"So what is this place? A Pirate Island?" Yuffie inquired and look eagerly at Keto.

"Yes, not many people know it exists, it's one of the safest places to live if someone's after you." Keto drummed his fingers on the table top impatiently, tense.

"Wow-" Vincent held up a hand to silence Yuffie and listened.

"...Someone's here." He murmured, pulling a gun out.

The house creaked eerily under the stain of the wind but no one else could hear a sound. Only Vincent's mako hearing could pick it up.

He pulled his gun up towards the door and slowly reached for the brass handle. He leapt on it in the blink of an eye and pointed his gun out into the hallway.

A small girl blinked up at him in fear and stared in the gun. Suddenly her body seemed to dissipate, dissolving into thin air.

"What the..." Yuffie was out of her seat now and stood up, reaching for her shuriken.

Vincent stepped out into the hallway and looked around, there was nothing.

A strange force pushed on his chest and made him stumble backwards into the room. Footsteps pattered into the room and the same force clutched onto Keto's shoulder.

"What's going on?" Vincent demanded, putting his gun to Keto head.

"Vince!" Yuffie warned.

"It's okay." He said to Yuffie. "Hey, you can come out now, he won't hurt you." Keto whispered to his shoulder, the force grabbed hold of his shirt even tighter. "I'm here, I'll protect you, I promise."

The force still held onto his shirt tight but let go after a few seconds, and a girl materialising behind Keto. Her short, shocking pink hair flopped over one eye as she stared up at the new people. She looked about thirteen, with clothes that were once colourful but were now so old, they had faded to brown and grey. The small dress was jagged at the bottom and her boots were worn and falling apart.

"Vincent, Yuffie, this is my sister, Anna."

A/N: I actually had a lot more planned for this Chapter but I've split it into two so I can get something up and posted. Any thoughts or ideas would be awesome! x


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Credit to LiveLifeLikeNeverBefore for ideas for Anna's past!

"Your what?!" Yuffie exclaimed, staring at the girl behind Keto's chair.

"...My younger sister." Keto repeated, his eyes had glazed over and he looked straight ahead, trying to avoid the questions he knew were soon coming.

"But... How... What..." Yuffie didn't know which question to ask first so instead her mouth tried to ask them all at the same time, typical.

"Her eyes..." Vincent was leaning against the door again and had recovered from his shock, the gun back in it's place. He kept his eyes trained on the strange girl but directed the question to Keto. "They're mako infused..."

Anna started to shy away from the tall man and stared at the floor, trying to hide the faint glow in her purple irises. She swallowed hard, grabbing hold of Keto shirt once again.

"Yeah, after my father was killed seven years ago, a lot of things happened." One of Keto's hands, which was resting on the table, curled into a fist. His face was still placid but no doubt the thoughts going through his mind weren't good ones. "He was killed on an island not far from here, it was an uninhabited island so there was no reason for someone to be there and accidentally shoot him. Someone was hired to do it. I was left there on my own with no way of getting off the island but a rowing boat I could hardly move, it took me five hours to row back to Belzeek. Meanwhile back home, Shinra had decided to eradicate my whole family. Some SOLDIER were dispersed in my home town, Junon, to kill anyone related to my father. I was safe because I wasn't supposed to be on that island but no one else was. SOLDIER murdered my mother in the living room in front of Anna. They kidnapped her and took her back to headquarters."

Anna's body trickled away from sight again and but her hold on Keto's shoulder was still strong.

"She was six."

Vincent and Yuffie shifted slightly and tried to digest this new information.

"Professor Hojo started experimenting on her, that's how she got her hair and eyes. He thought it was fitting for a young girl. Plus she was his first successful experiment to gain invisibility, though he was careful not to let her walk through walls."

There a small rumbling noise in Vincent's chest at the mention of Hojo.

"Even after Hojo was gone and Midgar was destroyed, Anna was kept as a secret experiment, still locked away from human contact. She only managed to escape six months ago."

Yuffie gasped loudly at the thought." So you were locked up for six and a half years?" She said asked the air behind Keto.

He nodded grimly. "It took me over a week to reach home again and by then Anna was long gone. I found my mother on the floor when I arrived and had to bury her myself, I thought Anna was already dead." Keto closed his eyes and tried to block the memories that were now flooding into his head. "To survive I did odd jobs around Junon and stayed in the family home, praying that Shinra wouldn't come back for me, there was no where else to go. After Anna returned six months ago, I knew it wasn't safe to stay there then and we fled here to Belzeek."

"What happened after that? How did you end up in jail?" Yuffie asked softly.

"We thought we were safe here, we thought even SOLDIER wouldn't dare to venture here. But about a week ago, Shinra came for us. I got myself arrested as a distraction to let Anna get away and promised to meet her back here as soon as I could." He sighed loudly. "I'm sorry for keeping this from you."

"Why did they kill your family?" Vincent's voice was quieter than before, it was his way of sympathy.

"I don't know. That's what I want to ask Rufus before I kill him."

"Hold on, wait." Yuffie held her hands out and thought for a second. "There's one thing I still don't get, why do you want to kill Rufus? It was his father who killed your family."

"But he still kept Anna prisoner for years, and came after her when she escaped. I also found out recently from an ex-SOLDIER who came here that Rufus was in charge of the entire operation carried out to wipe my father's name from history." Keto continued.

Yuffie looked over at Keto and smiled, placing a hand over his fist. The hand slowly relaxed and Keto gave Yuffie a grateful smile for understanding.

"Yuffie." Vincent butted in, spoiling the moment and making Yuffie uncomfortable. "If we try to kill Rufus, we will have to fight the Turks." He explained from his stance by the door.

"That doesn't matter!" She stood up from her seat and made the chair fall backwards. "Keto needs our help and I'm not letting him down. Did you hear what he just said? If worst comes to worse then we can trick the Turks anyway, we don't have to fight them."

Vincent was startled by Yuffie's outburst but recovered quickly, turning to Keto. "What exactly do you want us to do?" He asked, stealing glances at the girl who had reappeared at Keto's shoulder.

"To help." Keto sat up straighter in his chair and turned around to wipe some dirt off his sister's cheek. She looked away in annoyance but smiled at Keto. "For one, Anna has to come with us because there's no one else to look after her, Shinra could come back now they know I've escaped. But when we start this mission I just need help tracking Rufus down and infiltrating his building. He disappeared soon after AVALANCHE's battle in Edge."

"See!" Yuffie boasted to Vincent. "We don't to kill any one, we just have to help get him in there. It'll all be fine!"

"You can leave if you want to, no one's forcing you to stay Vince." Keto said dryly.

"It's Vincent, and I'm staying." He told them, standing up straighter than before.

"Then let's go!" Yuffie insisted, running for the door.

Vincent moved to the side to let her pass and waited for Keto and Anna to leave. He followed after.

--

"So how exactly are we getting off this island?" Yuffie complained, looking around the harbour they were now standing in. There was a hefty wind blowing on them but the waves underneath the pier they were standing on were still calm. Yuffie looked up at the sky and to see clear blue staring back at her, the sun blazing down. "I don't know if you remember but Cid told us to find our own way back."

Keto held his hand up to protect his vision and scanned the boats around them. "We're going to steal a ship." He said lightly, walking towards a large unmanned ship. He tugged at the invisible force holding his hand and lead her up the pier.

Yuffie grinned and ran after them, she knew she was going to enjoy this.

Vincent joined them as they reached their chosen ship and Keto boarded the giant wooden vessel. It looked like a pirate ship out of fairy tales, huge white sails, a carved wooden wheel, a deck the size of a football pitch.

"Hey Vince!" Keto shouted after him. "We need to set sail as soon as possible in case someone sees us! Get in!" He called out, loosening the ropes tying it to the pier.

"It's Vincent." He muttered, walking up the wooden plank and onto the magnificent ship.

Soon after the anchor was lifted and the ship set sail out of the pirate harbour, it's owners shouting after them with angry cries.

"You want it back, come and get it!" Yuffie screamed over the deck, laughing at the poor helpless men stuck on the pier.

"Don't intimidate them Yuffie." Vincent scolded, feeling out of place in the boat and stumbling about a bit.

"Oh come on, where's your sense of adventure?" She asked, skipping around him with ease. The tablets were still working well.

"No Vincent's right." Keto called from the back of the ship. He was supposed to be steering but instead he was looking over his shoulder warily. "You don't want to see a pirate angry and I think they're heading our way. Anna." She took him over at the wheel and Keto ran to the edge of the ship to get a better view. "At least there's only one ship..." He commented.

"What?!" Yuffie yelled, running over to the edge as well and observing the size of the ship chasing them. "We'll never out run that thing!" She complained, pointing to the monstrous black ship. "Who paints their ship black anyway?!"

"Then we're just going to have to fight them." Keto stated, looking around for some sort of weapon he could wield.

"What?!" Yuffie repeated. "Why the hell would we want to fight them?!"

"We've got no choice. Anyway, you and Vincent are long range fighters from AVALANCHE and my father taught Anna how to use a bow before she was four. Most pirates use swords, like me, so we can get them, before they get to us. Vince, can I borrow a gun?" He asked, turning the ex-Turk.

"It's Vincent." He repeated again, pulling out his least favourite gun and handing it to Keto.

Yuffie scowled at Keto, still unsure about the new situation she was in. How long were those tablets going to last?

"It's an adventure isn't it? I thought you were the best ninja in world?" He asked as he crossed his arms.

"I am!" She retorted. "Alright then!" She jumped onto the beam that lined the edges of the ship. "Show me what you got pirates!"

The huge midnight ship was nearly upon them and the crew could hear it's massive sails blowing towards them.

"Let's take them by surprise!" Keto called out to Anna. "Put down the port anchor and turn the ship!" He commanded. Anna nodded, spinning the wheel.

"I'm ready for you, ya parrot lovers!" Yuffie yelled at the boat, still stood on the beam, her Conformer above her head ready to fly.

"Yuffie, bong!" Keto shouted.

"Huh?"

But it was too late. The ship jerked to the left under the anchors pull and the main sail flew round with it, the wooden log at the bottom smacking into Yuffie's forehead. She blacked out from the hit and fell backwards into the tropical waters below.

"Yuffie!" Both Keto and Vincent shouted together, running to the side the ship to see if she would resurface.

Keto pulled a leg up over the side and tried to jump off before Vincent's claw grabbed him. "No, I'll go."

"What?" Keto responded, pulling his leg off the edge and moving closer to Vincent. "I don't have a good weapon, you're an expert at long range shooting and if you're gun powder gets wet, we're all done for." He explained.

Vincent looked him up and down before grunting in defeat. He turned away from the teenager and started shooting at the enemy behind them which were now in range.

Keto smirked proudly and jumped overboard head first. It took him a while to get used to the stinging salt water in his eyes but they soon adjusted to the change. He looked around the clear waters for any sign of Yuffie's unconscious body. Five metres below and to the left of him, Yuffie's wrist cloud clearly be seen caught on the edge of a reef. The rest of her hung precariously over a huge chasm that dropped so deep, the water looked almost black. Keto forced himself deeper in the water and tried to avoid the huge schools of fish surrounding him. He pulled her body out from the drop and wrestled her wrist from the coral. It released itself but blood starting trailing out of little cuts.

_"Get your feet out of the water, Keto, you know there are sharks around here."_

Keto's father's voice resounded in his head. _Akanji Island isn't far from here..._ He thought, already panicking about shark attacks. There also seemed to be a cut on Yuffie forehead where the sail had hit, it was releasing blood a lot faster than those on her wrist. Keto swam as hard as he could while he held Yuffie, up to the surface, taking a large gasp of air as he reached it. He could hear gun shots and loud cries coming from the ship way above his head but could hardly see the enemy on the other side. Keto swam towards the ship, dragging Yuffie behind him, and pulled them both up the ladder craved into the side of the ship. Once he reached the top he pulled Yuffie into his arms and laid her down in the centre of the deck, trying to get her to breathe again.

"They're not backing down." Vincent commented, shooting another crew member in the chest.

Anna had now let go of the wheel and was letting her arrows fly through the clear skies and ripping the sails of the black ship.

"Aim for the main mast, take it out and they won't be able to come after us." He told Vincent.

Vincent grunted in annoyance of being told what to do by a seventeen year old but obeyed the instructions. Three bullets hit the mast and one more was shot slightly to the left to guide the masts fall into the middle of the ship, causing a hole in the deck and two more men down.

"Anna, steer us towards Junon!" Keto yelled, still trying to get Yuffie to breathe again.

--

_A huge meadow stretched in front of my eyes and a light breeze lifted the unkept grass beneath my feet. The strange thing was, I couldn't feel it. There was no sky or sun above my head either, just endless white. A small apple tree resided to my left, it's leaves golden and scarlet. I could hear murmuring from the other side so I ventured my way over there, enjoying the feeling of the soft grass on my bare feet. The fresh air filled my lungs and had a familiar smell..._

_"Wutai?" I questioned, slowing down my pace as the grass turned to dirt beneath me. The voices were much closer now. I stepped carefully as I edged closer to the tree and stopped when I saw a woman's figure. Her hair was slung back messily and she hid a picnic basket behind her. My breathing hastened when I noticed the lab coat and red shoes. I ran around her and found who she was talking to. "Vincent?" I whispered. I could hardly recognise the Turk Vincent but his scarlet eyes gave it away. He was lying under the tree's branches with his hands behind his head. "Wait, this isn't right! Vincent and Lucrecia never came to Wutai!"_

_The two looked at me before blowing into dust carried away by the wind. _

_I blinked twice and frowned. "Huh?" Looking closely at the tree, I saw a small white lilly at it's base. "Aerith?" I stooped down and touched the the flower, feeling it's silky texture between my fingertips. A drop of water fell onto my nose and caused me to fall backwards with surprise. I stared up at the tree to find the source but saw nothing. Instead, a white petal floated down off it and landed to my right in the dirt. "Roses?" I scanned across the apple tree to see no apples in sight, but white roses stemming off it's branches. "What's that supposed to mean?" I asked to no one. Another drop of water landed on my forehead and the scene in front of me flashed away._

--

Keto crouched on top of Yuffie and waited as she coughed the sea water out of her lungs.

"What happened?" She asked hazily, pushing herself up onto her elbows.

Keto smiled warmly at her. "You fell into the water and passed out, I got you back."

"You...saved me?"

"Yeah."

Yuffie stared up at the wet man's face and then at his white shirt, his now see through white shirt... She stared for a little too long.

A loud shot went off behind them and Keto jumped three feet away from Yuffie. "Dude what the hell was that for?" Keto yelled, staring at the burnt remains of one of his sleeves. Luckily the bullet didn't break the skin.

"There was a piranha on your sleeve." Vincent replied, walking away.

A/N:Urm I'm kinda stuck for ideas now, anyone got any thoughts? Hope you enjoyed the latest Chapter! If you have any questions on Anna and Keto's past please ask, it was really hard trying to explain everything that happened to them! x


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Yay! I got so many more reviews in the latest Chapter! Thank you so much to; LiveLifeLikeNeverBefore, MinnieMouse8990, roaring star, kleptomaniac, and TitanicPhan for your brilliant reviews! It means so much to me that you take time out of your day to review my work!

"I... Didn't see any piranhas..." Yuffie stuttered, her eyes hunting across the deck for a small fish.

"It's nothing." Keto interrupted, still fingering the remains of his cotton sleeve. "Are you sure you're okay?" He asked and came to sit next to Yuffie again.

"Uh huh!" Her grin was award winning as she felt the bump on her forehead. "Wow I can't even remember it! Cool!" She got up clumsily, still a bit dazed, and ran down under the deck to look at herself in a mirror.

Keto chuckled at her erratic behaviour and stood looking in the direction the ship was sailing in. He smiled at smell of the fresh air and climbed up the steps towards Anna. He could see the sun setting behind them and flashing bright colours through the sky as it sank slowly into the dark sea. "Hey, are you okay?"

The pink haired girl looked up in surprise but immediately looked at her shoes again, nodding quickly.

"How many arrows did you loose fighting them?" He asked, leaning against the side of the ship and looking at her expectantly.

"...Twelve." She replied. Her voice was soft and smooth, it floated through the air like honey. It was barely more than a whisper but Keto was still happy to here her voice chime through again.

"That's not too bad. When we get to Junon I'll buy you some more." He smiled warmly at her.

Anna's fringe fell in front of her eyes again and she looked straight ahead, blushing at the offer. "I-I can buy them myself." Her hands gripped the wheel a little tighter and her form flickered slightly. She fought hard to control it and stayed in sight.

Keto sighed at the reaction he got. "Anna, when are you going to realise, I'm your brother. I want to look after you. You've been scared of me since you came home. Don't you remember me?" He had stepped closer to Anna as he talked and he held one hand out towards her.

"O-Of course I remember you." She stammered, her eyes meeting his briefly. "I..." The rest of the sentence failed to come out of her mouth. The girl stared back down at her shoes and waited for the awkward silence to finish. Suddenly a large, warm hand was placed over hers on the wheel and when she looked up, Keto was standing next to her, staring at the sea in front of them.

"You should go get some rest, I'll take over from here." Keto told her, putting his other hand onto the wheel and taking it for himself.

Anna stared up at him for a few moments before jumping back to reality and running down the steps into the rooms below deck, her head held down. Her feet pounded on the wooden stairs until she found herself in darkness. There was no light in there and to a normal person, they would have had to wait a couple of moments before their eyes got used to the dark. Anna, on the other hand, was not a normal person, and was able to carry on. She walked along a curved corridor with barrels in the corner until she reached four doors.

One, the open one, held a large desk and library inside. There was a giant map of Gaia resting on the table with many foreign markings of both pirate and sailor; some writing was beautiful, some writing looked like toddlers. A large comfy chair sat next to it in green leather. The wood was dark and stained with carved lions at the end of each arm, the green leather covering parts looked old and wrinkled. The carpets on the floor were rich and colourful, Anna could feel the soft fibres through the holes in her worn boots. Looking around she saw shelves and shelves of book reaching from floor to ceiling. All the book were different shades of red, blue and green in hardback covers. Many books had fallen off the shelves in their pursuit away from the angry pirates and now lay scattered around the floor, pages everywhere. One corner, the corner farthest from the door, held a stash of many bottles of rum. Most were empty already, but a couple still had their cork in place.

The next door Anna opened, she regretted it. The lavatory. Anna had to hold her hand to her mako enhanced nose to stop the retching smell getting to her. All it was, was a little hold in the wood that sailors would have to squat over. But as the ship rocked backwards and forwards all the time, the aim of these sailors was not the best. I won't go into any more detail. Anna shut the door quick and leaned on the closed door, happy to breathe freely again.

The teenage girl then opened the door opposite her, hoping to find something a little better. She pushed open the brass handle with a shove and fell into the man standing behind it.

"Excuse me." He apologised, standing the girl back on her own two feet.

The room behind him was decorated with hammocks strung from one pillar to the next. They were all originally white but the wear and tear of the ocean had changed them to a slight yellowy colour, each one also had it's own collection of holes.

Vincent looked down at the pink haired girl. "Keto and myself will sleep in this room. You and Yuffie and across the hall."

The girl's heart sank slowly at the sound of the hyperactive ninja's name. She blushed violently and closed the door again, stopping Vincent from talking to her. He always scared her a bit, he reminded her too much of her father.

"Eww! Grossness!" She heard from down the hallway.

Anna sighed and turned herself around.

Yuffie was chocking at the smell of the toilet and shutting the door quickly. She spotted Anna in the corner of her eye and smiled brightly. "Anna, come look!" She yelled. Running down the corridor at full pelt, Yuffie caught Anna's hand on the way down and thrust her into the last room. It was smaller than the other bedroom but this one had proper beds instead of hammocks. Two twin beds lay in the centre of the room with small dressing tables by their sides. There were paintings hanging off the wooden walls and swinging with the motion of the ship. There was no carpet, like the library room, but a large rug sat under the two beds. "Wahoo!" Yuffie ran and jumped onto one of the plush bed and started bouncing up and down.

Anna looked at her with steely eyes and walked round to the other bed, sitting nervously on the edge. She knew this was going to be a long journey.

The girl next to her suddenly stopped bouncing and held onto her stomach, her face white. "...Maybe less jumping.." She mumbled, curling up into a ball.

Anna stared at the strange woman for some time before taking off her shoes and lifting the covers of her bed.

Yuffie watched her and frowned. "You're going to bed already? I thought we could have like a sleepover thing?" She whined.

Anna didn't answer, she just wrapped herself up in the strange smelling blankets and turned her back to her companion.

"Well whatever, I'm gonna go and get some more pain killers from Vince. If I don't get any so help me gods! VINNIE!" She ran out of the room and started pining after the ex-Turk.

Anna enjoyed to brief moment of peace before she came back. It wasn't that Anna didn't like Yuffie, it was just uncomfortable to have someone so loud around after years of solitude. Anna wasn't really sure what to make of her.

"Oh my gawd Vince can be annoying sometimes!" Yuffie stalked back into the room and slammed the door behind her. "_If you have any tablets you won't sleep tonight!_" She repeated in a mimicking voice. "Geez I was only asking! I'm gonna be up all night anyway throwing up now!" She huffed and blew the bangs out of her face, looking over at Anna's back. "Oh right, you wanna go to sleep." She remembered, turning off the lights and taking her own shoes off in the dark. She sat under the covers and turned over a few time before talking again. "Well tomorrow should be more fun. Keto wants to go get his sword back from Junon and then we're free to go whoop Shinra's ass!"

Anna had turned over now and could see her fake punching the air. "What's wrong with you? Why do you want to fight Shinra?" She asked, throwing the covers from her face.

Yuffie blinked at the dark frame of the small girl. "So you can speak.."

"Shinra's helped you haven't they?"

"Well yeah but... Don't you want revenge on them?"

Anna's eyebrows knitted together. "No! I want my brother to live a normal life and not be a fugitive any more. Why would I want him to get in even more trouble?" Her voice was still quite quiet but it was loud for her.

Yuffie shifted in her bed. "I never thought about it that way..." She replied.

"Yeah I bet you didn't." Anna retorted, turning her back again.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Yuffie waited for a few moment but never got an answer. "Fine." Yuffie then turned her back as well and huffed, seething silently.

Both girls stayed silent the rest of the night but neither got very much sleep.

A/N: Good? Bad? Tell me your thoughts! Sorry if this is shorter than the other Chapters, I've been a bit stuck for ideas... If you have any I'd love to hear them!


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Hey, sorry this is a bit late, had a Studio Ghibli night last night with two great friends and stayed up the entire night! My work might be a bit sloppy because I haven't slept in 28 hours so please forgive me! Credit to **TitanicPhan** for the opening, tell her she needs to start a FFVII fic! Also credit to **roaring star** for a great idea in this Chapter, I won't tell you what it is yet because it'll spoil it but I'll tell you at the end! Thank you both of you for helping!

"Soooooooo, are we there yet?" Yuffie asked for the umpteenth time that day.

Vincent, who was leaning on a large mast in the middle of the ship, sighed and looked at her standing by him. "No Yuffie we're not there yet."

Yuffie's green tinted face nodded and suddenly got greener. "Okay-woooo!" She said as they went over a large wave, she fell into Vincent's arms, putting her hand over her mouth she staggered to the edge of the ship.

"Hey, you okay over there Yuff?" Keto said, worried.

Vincent, who had his arms around her stomach as she began puking, looked up at him. "Her name is Yuffie and she's sea sick."

Keto brushed him off and looked out at the beautiful sunset, it reminded him from the day his life changed forever, the day his father was murdered, at the thought of that day he felt his blood began to boil, he would have his revenge.

"Are we there now?" Yuffie asked again, her head still hanging over the edge of the ship.

"No." Vincent replied, knowing what was about to come.

Yuffie waited a few seconds, recovering a bit from the movement of the ship, before asking the same question again. "Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there _yet_?"

"No."

"Are we there now?"

"No."

Yuffie groaned loudly and sat on the railing that ran the length of the ship, bringing one hand to her temples.

Both Vincent and Keto stood straighter where they were standing and watched her closely.

Yuffie looked at both of them before remembering what had happened last time she was near that railing. "Oh gawd, I'm not a kid! I won't make the same mistake again! I'm fine!" She laughed and flung both her hands in the air.

The main sail of the ship suddenly thrust through the air towards Yuffie and hit the tops of her fingers hard. She flailed her arms about dramatically before gaining her balance back and smiling nervously at her comrades. She stepped well away from the bar.

Anna slapped herself in the forehead.

"Are we there yet?" She chuckled sheepishly.

Vincent's death glare said it all.

"...Yes." Keto grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her around to the black blob of land sailing towards them.

"Wahoo! I can't believe it!" Yuffie shouted, jumping in the air with relief. She twirled around on the spot and ran to the front of the ship, trying to get closer to dry land. Yuffie clapped her hands together happily and ran back to the trio watching her. She stumbled slightly as another wave hit the boat but recovered quickly. "Maybe I shouldn't jump around as much..." She whispered, holding onto a rope for support.

--

Half an hour later and the small black blob in the distance had become a huge metal structure waiting just off shore. The team watched carefully overhead at the giant metal pipes that weaved their way across the shoreline like a giant spider web, their red varnish chipping and rusting away because of the force of the sea's waves.

"This place always gave me the creeps!" Yuffie muttered, craning her neck upwards at the huge Shinra military base. The Sister Ray still stared out to sea and had started growing Ivy and moss around it's barrel because of Shinra's down fall, it still looked as sinister as when it had shot the Sapphire WEAPON all those years ago.

The ship finally reached the tiny dock in Junon and they disembarked their stolen boat. The world around them was quiet and eerie, there were no people around and those who were ran from the strangers with fear in their eyes.

"The town was quiet when we left six months ago, no one comes here any more, but it wasn't this bad." Keto remarked.

Yuffie pulled her PHS from her pocket and waved it around in the air. "Geez, this place still has zero signal on my PHS! Hey Vince, let me borrow yours." She turned round at him expectantly but he shook his head.

"My PHS would have as much signal as yours." He replied, standing his ground.

Yuffie snorted. "Don't be stupid, Cloud _always_ used to borrow your PHS because it had more signal than the rest of us!" Yuffie held out her hand to him and motioned with her eyes to give it to her.

Vincent shook his head once again.

Yuffie sighed slowly. "When are you going to realise Vince." Her body disappeared from his view but he felt a soft presence behind him. "I'm a ninja." She whispered in his ear, taking the PHS from his pocket and reappearing in her former place.

"Yuffie." Vincent warned, his eyes weren't the happiest.

"Oh relax Vinnie, gawd! I'm just calling Tifa to tell her we'll be back in a few days!" She turned her back to the group and started stabbing at the buttons expertly. "Hey Teef!" She greeted after a couple more moments. "Yeah I'm okay - Vincent's fine, grumpy but fine - I just wanted to tell you we'll be back soon, we're in Junon at the moment but we're coming back to the bar after that."

"We are?" Anna's invisible voice asked, she had stayed invisible in case someone recognised her.

"I guess so." Keto replied.

"How many? There's four of us - Me, Vinnie, Keto and Anna - Oh right you don't know Anna yet! She's really cute and small and she's about the same age as Marlene, they'd get along - Huh? There's going to be a what? Teef, I can't hear you, you know what the signals like over here! Teef? Teef?" There was a loud beeping sound coming from the phone. "Aw man! You wouldn't think with a massive ray gun like that the signal would be better in the Forgotten City than here but no!" She chucked the phone back at Vincent and crossed her arms in a strop.

Keto looked at the silent streets they were walking down and stopped.

Anna's footfalls also became nonexsistant.

"...Keto?" Yuffie asked, flipping her head backwards and forwards from Keto to the space he was looking at.

He suddenly broke off into a run towards a house in the distance, Anna straight after him. Yuffie and Vincent followed behind, completely confused by the situation.

They stopped in front of an old wooden house just off the main street. It looked just like the other houses in the dark dusk light. Dark stained wood, big bay windows, small front gardens. This one had a slight difference to the others though.

"Shinra... Blew it up?!" Yuffie exclaimed staring at the destruction in front of them.

The second floor of the house was still intact but the bottom half was in ruins. It looked as if the house stood on stilts above a massive wreck of wooden planks and fragments of possessions inside. Keto ran into the wreckage and started madly rummaging through the broken decay, throwing the wood aside and picking up anything that he could remember.

"I'm checking upstairs." Anna whispered nervously to the two AVALANCHE members before her presence disappeared from their side.

"Hey wait kid! I'll come too!" Yuffie shouted, running behind her and jumping with ease to the second floor.

It was strange and kind of sinister up there. The blue carpets were worn and moth-eaten and the doors creaked heavily in the sea breeze.

"This would be so much easier if you weren't invisible right now." She muttered.

Yuffie unhooked the Conformer on her back and held it up ready to strike. There was a small yelp from the room to Yuffie's right and she sprang in there like a panther.

Unfortunately for Yuffie, not monsters or exciting things resided in that room. Anna lay sprawled on the floor, visible again and snivelling.

"Hey, hey!" Yuffie soothed, running to her side. "What happened?"

The girl's eyes were glistened with tears of sadness and embarrassment. "I tripped." She sniffed, her cheeks glowing redder.

Yuffie chucked and hugged the teen. "Is that it? Did you cut yourself?" She asked.

Anna shook her head but looked down at her clothes, her old dress was in tatters from a rip in the side. "What am I going to do now?" She asked.

"Don't worry about that! Tell ya what, tomorrow morning me and you'll go shopping for a whole new outfit, sound good?" _Materia shops, materia shops, materia shops!_

Anna wiped her eyes and gave Yuffie and small smile, nodding.

"It's getting late now, you got somewhere we can sleep?" Yuffie asked, hoisting the girl upright.

She nodded and pointed towards the double bed to their right.

"Get a good night sleep then okay?" Yuffie was so glad she had picked something up from all those years of staying at Tifa's!

Once Anna was settled and happy, Yuffie left her and jumped back down to the lower level wreckage. She made her way carefully to where she could hear noises and found her other two companions.

Vincent was standing to the side and staring at Keto, who was holding a huge sheathed sword in one hand. He gripped the red dragon handle and pulled the magnificent sword out of it's covering. It wasn't as grand or as obvious as Cloud or Sephiroth's sword, but it was still a worthy match to them. It reached up to Keto's hips from the from the floor but the width of the blade kept it in perfect balance. A red dragon head rested fiercely on the hilt and red fire flickered down the length of the blade. It reflected the light of the now rising moon and seemed to ring with a high pitched whistle when it was swung through the air. Keto replaced the sword and tied the sheath to his belt.

"Anna's asleep." Yuffie started as the two men looked around. "The whole floor in unharmed so we can sleep up there tonight." She explained.

Vincent nodded and walked past her, jumping silently to the second floor.

Keto looked around at the wreckage that lay before him. "I'll be up later." He murmured.

--

Yuffie watched the rain pelt down hard on the intact windows and tried to look out into the street. It was hard with a candle lit behind her. Two hours had already passed and Keto still hadn't come upstairs, Yuffie was worried something might have happened. "I'm going to check on Keto." She told Vincent, getting up from her seat.

Vincent didn't look at her when he replied. "He wants to be alone."

"Whatever."

Yuffie jumped down and called Keto's name several times. She couldn't hear anything over the noise of the rain so she explored past where she had been before. Lights coming from the top floor dimly lit her way but she still managed to step on a few things that cracked loudly under her weight. She came to the end of the debris and found a small back garden lay behind. Yuffie stepped out into the pelting rain and immediately her bangs were plastered to her eyelids and her clothes were soaked through. She pulled the hair from out of her eyes and searched around the nearly pitch black garden before her eyes saw a familiar white shirt. The lawn under feet squelched with every footstep and each foot sunk an inch or two into the mud. She shivered at the wind that had just picked up but kept making her way towards the figure at the bottom of the garden. When she finally reached him, she saw he had also been soaked through, both his clothes and his hair.

He wasn't paying attention to her, just staring at the ground.

Yuffie looked at the spot he was staring at and immediately realised what was happening. "...It's hard isn't it?" She shouted over the wind and rain.

Keto flinched at the voice but kept his eyes in the same spot.

"Losing a parent." Yuffie looked down at the small grey stone that lay at the bottom of the garden. It wasn't chiselled like a proper gravestone but a small name was engraved roughly in the rock. A small handful of blue flowers lay at it's base.

_"I found my mother on the floor when I arrived and had to bury her myself."_

Keto's words resounded hard in her head but Yuffie kept herself as calm as possible. "I lost my mom when I was young too."

Keto's body seemed to stiffen up slightly before relaxing again.

Yuffie took a step towards him so they were now standing side by side and continued. "She was a happy, wonderful person who loved her family and country more than anything. I don't have many memories of her, but the ones I do have, I'm always smiling in them. I can't remember her dying much, one minute she was there, the next she was gone. I was told it was of illness but I really can't remember. But I always know when I think about her, to smile, because that's what she would have wanted for me." Keto stayed still after she had finished and she shivered as the wind picked up again.

He turned around slowly towards her and stared at her rain soaked face. "You know, I've been wanting to do this for a long time." He put a hand up to her chin and the other went to the small of her back, pulling her into his warm chest. The rain water dripped from his hair onto Yuffie's cheek and he pulled her chin up towards him, kissing her softly as thunder cracked in the distance.

Vincent's red cloak fluttered violently in the wind as he watched from the debris. His fingers tightened over the handle of his gun but he resisted the urge to shoot the seventeen year old's head off. Instead, he turned and walked away, but not back to the top floor of the house. He walked out into the street and started to walk out of Junon.

"VINCENT!" A voice howled over the weather.

He paused momentarily but carried on again.

"Vincent stop it!" The voice called again, this time a lot closer.

Vincent turned around to look at the small Wutain girl.

"What is wrong with you?" She shouted. Her small frame looked as if it was going to blow away with the wind if Vincent didn't hold onto her, her hair plastered to the front of her face.

His eyebrows met together in the middle as he frowned at Yuffie.

"Where are you going?" She asked, shivering again.

"Away."

"...You arrogant idiot!" She shouted, exploding and stamping her foot on the ground.

Vincent took a small step back at the words.

"Why do you run away from everything?! Any time you have to make a hard decision and don't want to face to consequences you run away!" She screamed. Most of the water now on her face was not rain but tears. "Who never ever seemed notice me?! Who never answers their PHS because they know it's me?! Who always leaves AVALANCHE as soon as he can doesn't contact them again for months?! You only came to the bar a few days ago because Cloud threatened you on pain of death if you refused Tifa another reunion!" Her breath was hard now and her eyes were squinted.

"Yuffie-"

"No! It's not fair Vincent! Did you even stay to watch what happened after you spied on us? I told him that we had to stay friends and I didn't like him in that way! So go on, leave now Mr Hero!" She broke eye contact with him and ran back down the street, her hands at her face.

--

"That tasted so good!" Yuffie exclaimed, stretching in her seat.

As the kitchen had been on the ground floor of the house, the team went to a restaurant in the centre for breakfast the next morning. They were the only people there and the staff at the restaurant stared at them as they ate, as if they had forgotten what customers looked like.

Yuffie dished her share of gil onto table and dragged Anna up. "Let's go! We need to buy Anna some more arrows as well as clothes so let's get going before we have to leave for Edge!" She whined.

"We'll meet you in there." Vincent replied, stepping hard on Keto's foot under the table.

Yuffie looked at Keto questioningly but he nodded, a little bit pale. She shrugged it off and skipped out the door. "Meet you in the materia shop!" She hollered.

"The materia shop?!" Anna asked as they walked out the chiming door.

Both men stared at each other for a few seconds as they waited for the girls to leave sight before Vincent flicked a coin onto the table top and got up.

Keto hurriedly did the same and ran out to meet him.

The day had cleared up from the storm the night before but the sky was still grey with clouds.

Vincent walked a couple of steps out of the restaurant before stopping in the middle of the road. "I stayed to protect Yuffie." He stated, answering the question that no doubt had been playing on Keto's mind.

"W-" Keto started to talk but was interrupted by Vincent.

"I have seen things you can't even imagine." Vincent's face was cold and unemotional. He pulled a gun out of his belt with expertise and pointed straight between Keto's eyes. "If you lay a finger on Yuffie again, I'll make them a reality for you."

Keto stared out at the gun and gulped.

Vincent replaced the gun and walked away. "There are worse things in this world than Shinra."

A/N: It was **roaring star**'s idea of Keto kissing Yuffie and Vincent running away, that was the scene I didn't want to mention at the start! Thank you for your help! I also want to say thank you to all who reviewed the last Chapter; **Asrialth**, **roaring star**, **TitanicPhan**, and **MinnieMouse8990**! You guys rock, you're the only thing that keeps me going! Any ideas for the next Chapter will be welcomed with open arms! ...In other words I don't know what's happening yet! Thanks again! x


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Yay, earlier update! This Chapter focuses on Anna more than anyone! Enjoy!

*********

Anna's head rested on the cold metal floor and sent a shiver through her body. Trying to get up, she found her body completely useless. Her eye's fluttered open and squinted up at a black ceiling. Brown hair obscured her vision but the dark grey walls around her didn't look promising. Where was she? She wiggled her fingers helplessly and tried to regain the feeling in them. What had happened, wasn't she just with-

"Mommy!" She sat bolt upright and looked around helplessly. Her last memory burned brightly but she couldn't work out where she was.

Her white nightgown was stained with dirt and muck and was ripped on one side. She touched it and her memory flashed back to the strange men who had broken into her house. She shrieked and pulled her knees up to her chin. Her eyes darted around the room and she tried to find her bearings. A small white bed lay in the corner and a toilet lay on the other side with a small basin. The floor underneath her was a cold metal grate and on later inspection, the walls surrounding her were made of a strong, silver metal. A solid door stood in front of her and a red light flared above it.

After only being awake a few minutes, there was a small commotion behind her door. The light flashed green and the door slid open. A tall man with a darkened face stood and looked down at her. His white lab coat drifted in the stale air and he erupted in dark laughter.

Anna backed away from the man and pushed herself to the back wall, hiding her face in her long hair and nightgown.

"Well hello there, little one! What might your name be?" He smiled with eagerness and took two more steps towards her.

Anna whimpered and looked at the man's now enlightened face.

His dark greasy hair was slicked back in a pony tail and he wore a pair of circular glasses on the end of his nose. His skin looked oily and dirty, like someone who had been too engrossed in something to wash.

She hid her face again and curled up her legs.

"What are you doing my dear? You shouldn't be hiding that pretty face of yours now should you!" He walked to her and crouched on the floor next to Anna. He pulled her chin up by force and pulled her hair away from her face, his hand lingering on her cheek. "We'd better get rid of that nice long hair of yours, so everyone can enjoy your beautiful face!" He smirked and showed crooked, yellow teeth.

*********

"One more minute!" Yuffie shouted from behind the curtains.

Vincent and Keto had joined Yuffie and Anna soon after their little chat and were now sitting in the only clothes shop in Junon looking awkward. The owner was equally as surprised to see them as the restaurant owners and was carefully watching their every move. They sat in red, squashy, uncomfortable seats by the dressing room waiting for the girls to stop fussing and return.

They took an almost hour.

"Alright, you guys ready?" She asked, poking her head from behind the buttercup yellow curtain. Her grin was proud and she looked like she was going to start jumping up and down in excitement. She didn't, though it took a lot of effort.

The boys nodded, half asleep with waiting, and sat up straighter in their seats.

"Taa Daa!" She swished the curtain back with huge emphasis and revealed the new Anna. Yuffie giggled at the boys expressions and clapped her hands together.

Anna stood nervously with her head down and blushed furiously. Her outfit was made up of a maroon/pink vest top with extra straps, reaching down past her waist and a pair of dull navy blue shorts. Yuffie had given her a pair of knee high white socks with a matching blue strip and fawn brown suede boots, much like her old ones. A pair of black leather fingerless gloves rested on each hand, and she held a new light pine coloured long bow behind her back. A strap rested across her chest supporting a sling on her back full of new navy blue arrows. She looked stunning.

"Well, wha'da'ya think?!" Yuffie asked impatiently, scrunching the curtain up in her excited fists.

A small noise escaped from Keto's lips but no one knew what it meant. He frowned at Anna and rearranged himself in his seat, wondering if it really was his sister.

Vincent nodded at her and stood. "Are you buying it then?" He asked, pulling out some gil from under his cloak.

Keto stood up fast and managed to find his voice again. "I-It's fine I'll buy it!" He said, scrambling around in his pockets.

"It's fine." Vincent said, glaring at him slightly.

"No! She's my sister!" Keto argued and started searching in his back pockets.

"Oh for gawds sake!" Yuffie yelled, pulling Anna by the wrist out of the changing room and towards the till. "I'll pay for it if you're gonna take that long deciding!" She disappeared around the corner still muttering under her breath.

The two men glared and each other before walking round the corner after her.

"Thank you very much!" The owner called as the team walked out of the small shop. They stood at the porch and looked as the quiet townsfolk walked about their lives. Well, the few that were brave enough to walk outside.

"Please let me pay Yuffie!" Keto asked again, trying to shove gil into her hand.

She pushed him away and pulled a folded piece of paper out of her pocket. "It wasn't much, and I can get the money back off my dad any time I want!" She sang cheerfully. She then unfolded the old parchment and revealed a map of Gaia. "So which is the best way back to Edge?"

"The mountain range creates a barrier between us." Vincent replied, looking over her shoulder.

"Shall we just sail there then?" Keto traced a line in the sea that lead across to Edge.

"Guess it's our only option!"

--

"Tifa, they're here!" Marlene yelled from the window of Seventh Heaven. She got out of the seat she was sitting in and ran to the door at the back of the bar. "Everyone! They're here!" She shouted to the house of guests.

"We heard ya the first time, girly!" Cid grumbled, ruffling her hair as he walked past and sat down on one of the bar stools.

The rest of AVALANCHE followed through the small doorway and awaited the arrival of their companions.

It had taken the odd team four days to sail from Junon to Edge, but it had been uneventful. All the team had experienced was Yuffie's worst sickness ever and how skilful Anna really was with a bow and arrow. She caught more than a few seagulls whilst practising.

As they walked through the door, a resounding 'hello' hit them hard as all six other members (plus Marlene) welcomed them.

"Huh? What are you guys still doing here?!" Yuffie asked, her eyes bright with excitement. _Was it a surprise?_

Tifa came round the bar and took Yuffie into a warm embrace, nodding at Vincent and smiling warmly at Keto. "I knew you'd be back soon so I asked everyone to stay on a couple of days! Our reunion got cut a bit short before."

Yuffie smirked at the other five who were sat down. "Seriously? You had nothing else to do in your lives but wait for us?"

"Shu'up brat! I wanted to spend some more time with Marlene too!" Barret retorted, taking the twelve year old by the arm.

"Whatever!" Yuffie replied, giggling.

"Wait..." Tifa had now stopped hugging Yuffie and was looking at the doorway. "You said to make an extra bed for someone...?"

"Oh right yeah!" Yuffie's head snapped up and grinned at the group. "Everyone meet Anna, Keto's little sister! We met her on Belzeek!" She pulled Keto out of the way to reveal Anna to everyone.

"That?! That #&%$ thing is the reason my &$%£ air ship's broken?!" Cid yelled, standing up.

"Shut up Cid, no one cares." Yuffie stated in a monotonous voice.

"WHA-"

"So this is Tifa!" Yuffie ignored Cid's fury and started introducing the group to Anna.

Tifa smiled and waved at her. "Hi, it's nice to have you with us!" She sang, walking back around the bar so the others could be introduced.

"That's Cid, no one likes him." Yuffie continued, pointing to the already raging Cid.

Anna nodded to him, her eyes thick with fear of the spear lying next to the crazed pilot.

"That's Barret and his adopted daughter Marlene - don't ask why, long story." Yuffie steered Anna's body in the direction of Barret and Marlene.

Barret grunted at her in the usual welcome and Marlene smiled brightly at her. "Hello!"

"...Hi." Anna whispered, trying to hide under her hair again.

"She's a bit shy." Yuffie explained to Marlene. "There's Cloud behind the counter, or chocobo head, whichever!"

The blonde murmured a polite hello and smiled slightly. His eyes seemed to be fixed on hers, staring closely at the girl with his bright eyes.

"That's Reeve in the corner with Cait Sith, he's a robot, loads of fun!" Yuffie exclaimed.

Reeve smiled at her and whispered something in Cait Sith's ear. The cat nodded and ran across the nearest table. He somersaulted off the end and landed at the girls feet, making her jump. "Nice 'ta meet 'cha lassie!" He yelled, climbing up Yuffie's shoulder and holding a gloved paw out for her.

Anna stared down at the robotic arm in horror but shock it all the same, grimacing at the touch.

"And down there is Nanaki, or Red!" Yuffie said, pointing at the red lion on the wood flooring.

"It's wonderful to meet you, Anna." He replied in his odd accent.

Anna's eyes widened as the creature talked and she watched his ever flickering tail with fascination.

"Well, that's introductions over, let's go do something!" Yuffie shouted, pumping her fist in the air.

There was a short pause as the door at the back of the bar opened again and a boy about the same age as Anna backed his way into the bar. His floppy brown hair bounced and he turned around to meet the new-comers. He smiled happily at Yuffie and Vincent but his eyes stopped dead on Anna.

Yuffie felt Anna's breathing quicken when she caught eyes with Denzel and the form Yuffie was holding onto dissolved to nothing.

Silence ensued.

Seconds later the whole bar was on it's feet, weapons picked up and ready.

"Aw come on! Honestly?!" Yuffie moaned at Anna. "You can keep your emotions under control when a freakin' lion with a flaming tail talks to you but you catch one guys eye and poof! It's all over!"

Small footsteps ran towards Keto and grabbed onto his shirt. Anna then reappeared, hiding behind him.

"Yuffie, Vincent, what's going on?" Tifa asked, her fists still raised.

"It's fine! Calm down! Jeez she only turned invisible!" Yuffie finished the sentence with a nervous laugh.

"Only?!" Cid fumed, his spear aimed expertly at Anna.

"Look it's a long story okay? We'll tell you if you lower your weapons!" Yuffie bargained.

Tifa was the first to relax, while the rest of the group followed suit.

"We've got the whole night, explain." Cloud demanded, keeping his sword by his side. He was nervous as to why the girl's eyes glowed as brightly as his own.

--

Several hours later, the sky grew dark outside as Keto and Yuffie explained the situation of the siblings. One by one the members walked upstairs to bed until only Yuffie, Barret, Marlene, Anna, Keto, Vincent and Tifa were still awake. Cloud wanted to stay up with them but he had an early delivery. The other members had to leave for home early in the morning as well.

The group sat at the small bar and laughed together warmly while Tifa handed them drinks. As the conversation died down, Anna decided to take a step forwards.

"...Vincent." She stuttered, not able to look him in the eye.

The six foot man glanced down at her and analysed her with his piercing gaze. "Yes?"

"Are you-" She had been wanting to ask this question since they met but had held back until now. She could think of no other way to phrase the question so continued. The group was watching her. "Are you a vampire?" She asked finally.

The room was still and silent for a few moments before erupting in cackling laughter. Tifa leaned against the bar for support and Yuffie collapsed onto the table top with tears in her eyes.

Anna blushed violently and shrivelled away, the only mark that she was still there was the crumpled seat she was sitting on.

Vincent looked at the group. Yuffie and Tifa were practically rolling on the floor laughing and Keto shoulders were shaking as he tried to hold his laughter in. Barret's hearty roar could be heard for miles around as he slapped the table with his palm. Even little Marlene was giggling at Vincent's face. "No."

"Aw kid!" Yuffie gasped between breaths. "You crack me up!" She screamed, high fiving Barret and drooping to the table top again.

Vincent sighed and got up, striding out of the bar and up the stairs.

"Maybe we should get you to bed." Tifa said, wiping a tear from her eyes.

Anna body rippled into sight again and she nodded, following the brunette up the stairs.

Tifa paused at a stained wooden door at the end of the corridor and opened it. It creaked slightly as it opened and Tifa flicked the light switch on the wall. "I've left a towel at the end of the bed if you want to have a shower in the morning but you'd better be quick!" She let Anna pass through

and leaned against the door frame. "Call if you need anything!" She whispered, closing the door as she left.

Anna listened as Tifa's footsteps faded away back down the stairs and she collapsed on her white bed. The covers were soft and smelt of fresh linen, a smell she could only remember from her early years in Junon. She relaxed into them and took a deep breath. The room of was slightly stuffy so she pulled up the large, single-hung sash window and let the Edge air wipe her face. She pulled off her new boots and socks and laid her fingerless gloves on the small dressing table at the end of her bed. She balanced her longbow against the table and removed the sling of arrows from her back. After flicking light back off, she crawled into the covers and let the darkness sweep her away.

High above Anna's head, Vincent sat looking at the stars from the roof. He heard Anna open the window but lay still on the roof's slates. The dark air had a slight wind that flourished through Vincent's crimson cape and hair. He sat thinking of Yuffie's words in Junon.

_"So go on, leave now Mr Hero!"_

..._She's right._

Vincent's eye caught a black shadow moving to his right and stood up, hands at his gun. The wind blew in the opposite direction and all he could hear were the night sounds of Edge. A short scream came from Anna's window and the black shadow darted away again. Vincent slung himself off the side of the roof and into Anna's bedroom, gun pointed.

But there was nothing. He couldn't detect Anna's scared frame any where, invisible or visible.

She was gone.

A/N: Thank you to** Asrialth **for the kidnapping idea! Thank you to my reviewers; **Asrialth**, **MinnieMouse8990**, and **kleptomaniac**. I did a quick sketch of Anna's new outfit a couple of days ago and it's now viewable on my deviantart if you want to check it out. My username is splodge82. There's also a little profile thing added in the description which explains a bit more about Anna. If you haven't noticed I usually update about once a week but I've updated early now because I can't update next week! I have a show on Saturday 12th so all this week I'm rehearsing after school and I won't have time to write! Please forgive me but I'll try and update on Sunday instead!

p.s Waa, 'Past, Present and Future' has hit 2000 views! Thank you so much! Wow, and 'Beneath The Cherry Blossom Tree' is 50 views off 3000! That's amazing! Thank you so so so much again!! x


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: There's a few icky scene in here look away if you're squeamish! Oh and this next scene is of Anna's past, if you can't work it out.

*********

Harsh murmurs woke Anna from her uncomfortable sleep and the red light above her door flashed green. She gathered her covers up and tried to move as far away from the door as possible, knowing it was futile.

A man in midnight blue armour walked into the cell and pointed his gun towards the girls head. "Out." He commended, indicating with his gun.

Her now lilac eyes screamed with terror but she did as the man asked and slowly lifted herself off the bed. She held her head low as she walked out of the metal chamber and out into the silver hallway. She stopped when she looked into the cells around her. They were empty. Usually each door was locked tightly with another prisoner like her behind them, sometimes she heard them banging on the door incessantly or wailing loudly in the night. She had no idea what had happened but became very aware that there was no one else around.

"Move!" The officer shouted, prodding her in the back with the barrel of his gun. She looked round at him to see his bright, bright eyes watching the walls nervously.

She continued walking again but was stopped by the guard when she started walking towards Hojo's laboratory.

"This way..." He muttered, pushing her again with his gun towards the elevator on the other side of the hallway.

She frowned at him but stepped inside all the same. She couldn't believe what she was seeing when she looked out of glass elevator, she felt as if her heart had stopped dead in her chest. A huge orange ball of fire hailed low in the sky above the city and got increasingly lower to the ground. Anna stared helplessly at the giant globe and looked at the guard for an explanation. He gave her no signals.

His PHS called loudly and the officer answered with a gulp. "Yes? I have her. No." He looked out at the ball of fire before turning his back to it again. "Meteor still looks about half an hour away, we should have time to get out." He grunted again and shut his phone, resuming his guns position towards Anna.

*********

The door to the spare room flung open and Keto stood heaving with his sword in one hand. His eyes darted for Anna but settled on Vincent. "Where is she?!" He demanded.

Yuffie came puffing through the door seconds later and looked around the room, frowning at Vincent.

"...I don't know." He replied. Tifa stumbled to the door next before Vincent took this opportunity to jump from the window. He flew out into the night and landed on the next rooftop along, following the path he saw the black shadow take. He could hear Yuffie's voice from the window but ignored her. _This way I can prove to you... _His red shadow faded into the night's rooftops, his golden claw and shoes glimmering lightly in the moonlight.

Yuffie brought her head back from the window and screamed, stamping her foot loudly on the floor with annoyance. "I swear to Leviathan, Valentine! One of these days-" She stopped herself and sat down on the end of the bed, still grumbling.

Keto, who had gone to the window at the same time as her, poked his head in and stared at her. "What are you doing?" He sheathed his blade. "We're going after them."

Yuffie blinked a couple of times. "What? We're going after who? We don't know who took Anna in the first place!"

"I don't care, I'm gonna find her." His face meant business.

He pulled a hand along his tired face but stalked past Tifa and towards the door. He paused as he reached the stairs and called back at the two girls. "Come if you want, otherwise I'm leaving."

Yuffie grunted harshly before lifting herself off the bed heavily. "Like you'd get anywhere on your own." She grabbed Anna's bow and arrows off the table as she left and lifted the bag she had left on the landing. She had never been bothered about taking it to her room.

Tifa watched the two descend the stairs and listened to their murmurings as the door shut with a slam. She sighed, shutting the awkward window and switching the light off.

The house was silent again.

The night outside was clear of clouds and the two teens could clearly find their way around Edge in the light of the half moon above their heads. They headed the direction they saw Vincent disappear in but soon found themselves not lost, but confused. A crossroads lay ahead of them, each path lit with a few distant lights but no clue as to which way the kidnapper went. Straight ahead seemed darker than the rest with clouds rolling in towards it. To the right was a quiet side street with a lone black cat stalking up on it's midnight stroll, meowing blindly. The left road was the most lively, music flowed down the street and fair few lights blinked at them.

"What do we do now?!" Yuffie groaned. She played with a shuriken in one hand and scuffed her shoes on the paving. "The guy got away on rooftops so there's going to be no clues down here..." She stared down one the roads and huffed slightly.

Keto racked his brain for any information that could help but he was unfamiliar with Edge's landscape and inhabitants. He had no idea who would want to take his sister.

There was an eruption of laughter nearby and the couple noticed a group of smokers hanging outside some pub. The dim light of the bar illuminated their faces with an orange tinge and showed the grey shadows beneath their eyes and the grubbiness of their faces.

Yuffie grinned maliciously and chuckled. "I know how to find out..." She smirked and pulled her top lower, walking towards the drunkards.

Keto frowned innocently and watched her approach the men.

"E-Excuse me..." She stuttered nervously, playing a damsel in distress.

Her intuition was right as the men's eyes swivelled straight towards her chest.

"Could you help me?" She asked, fluttering her eyelashes. "I lost my friend a while ago, has he gone past here? He wears all black with a big red cape..."

Most of the men carried on looking at her chest but the sober one's listened to what she was saying and frowned.

"Kind of like a vampire?"

The men who were listening heard a click in their heads and nodded at her description.

One at the back that looked moderately clean, but completely bald, answered her. "Ah yes, your friend walked past not long ago, he went that way love." He pointed with one hand down the rest of the road and smiled at her.

"Thank you so much!" Yuffie smiled as if butter couldn't melt in her mouth and skipped away. _...SUCKERS!_

She rejoined Keto at the crossroads and pulled her top back up a bit. "We need to head in that direction." Yuffie nodded towards the Northern road and pulled him behind her.

Keto thought about asking her what she had done to find out but decided it was probably best to leave it...

--

They hadn't been following the road long when there was a muttering of footsteps behind them.

Keto stepped closer to Yuffie and whispered lightly in her ear, his lips brushing again the lope of her ear. "Stay close." He said softly.

Yuffie gulped in surprise and her heartbeat increased rapidly.

They had only walked a few more paces before the footsteps gained on them and stopped, they heard the unsheathing of a sword in the gloom.

"So you're the son that defied Shinra." A voice called to them.

Keto and Yuffie turned slowly to face the group of men they had seen before outside the pub. The man's voice was rough and harsh like a rusty blade. His grin bore many missing teeth.

"We've been looking for you. Got a big price on your head boy."

Keto pulled the red blade from his belt and Yuffie pulled her Conformer from the bag on her back.

The men laughed heartily at the girl's weapon and the main man bent to her height. "Do you even know what that's called girly?" He asked in a patronising voice.

Yuffie eyes narrowed and ground her teeth noisily. "Yeah, it's called a Conformer, found it in the Sunken Gelnika while I was travelling with AVALANCHE." She then raised her eyebrows in triumph as the men stared at her.

"You were in AVALANCHE?" He asked.

"Oh yeah!" She shouted before launching a shuriken from behind her back and into one of the guy's heads.

He let out a small gasp and fell to the floor.

All the men turned to look at their dead team-mate and Yuffie took her chance. "Now!" She yelled at Keto flinging herself towards the group swinging her Conformer wildly. She flew gracefully into a man to her left and shoved one of the blades deep into his stomach, whirling it back out and around into another man's arm.

Keto had joined the frenzy and swung his blade with perfect rhythm. It rang through the air with precision and sliced though a pair of unsuspecting legs. He then leant back and thrust the hilt of the sword back into some guy's gut. He pushed it around his head and cut off someone's hand.

Between the two, they had decapitated the whole group.

Yuffie retrieved the shuriken she had thrown into the man's head and wiped the blood off, testing the point with her fingertip.

Keto just had time to catch his breath before he saw another group of armed men approaching them.

"Oh for crying out loud!" Yuffie yelled, letting her Conformer fly and taking out the three men at the back before they could get any closer.

The front man growled in frustration and let a ball of blue flames fly from his hand. The spell hurtled towards Yuffie at a magnificent speed.

"...Oops." She yelped, gulping as it advanced on her. The ball hit her in the gut and sent her back into a wall.

Keto wanted to go and help her but knew she could handle herself, he had to get rid of those guys. He jumped into the battle with a fluid swinging motion and caught most off guard.

Yuffie moaned at the bump that had appeared on the back of her and tried to recover from the impact. Her legs were still wobbly from surprise but she managed to crawl back in the middle of the road. She watched in awe at Keto's smooth and slender movements. He avoided each punch and grab and swiftly killed the remaining men one by one. He almost looked like a dancer as he never stopped or jerked in any way.

He lunged inwards to kill the last man but was deflected by something. He stumbled backwards before being knocked off his feet by another ball of blue fire. He flew through the air and past Yuffie, smashing to the ground and hitting his head on the concrete of Edge's streets. His sword came loose and slid across the road towards Yuffie's scrunched up form. She turned around on the floor to check if Keto was still breathing, and luckily he was.

The magic man advanced on Yuffie with a long blade in his hand. He stopped at her feet and slowly brought the sword to her left lower back. He pressed down and lightly ran the blade up to her right shoulder, creating a long diagonal gash across her back.

She arched herself inwards with pain and felt hot blood rising and dripping off her back. A sudden rush of adrenaline caught her and she gripped Keto's sword in her right hand. She'd never held a proper sword in her hand before but it felt good, like a store of power had just been released to her. Yuffie pulled one leg in so she was in a crouch and twisted herself around. She stood as she span and threw her arm outwards as she did so. The red blur of steel swished her round with momentum and stopped her so she was facing the man head on. For a moment, Yuffie thought she had missed him completely but steadily, half of the man's face slid to the side and off onto the street where Yuffie's sword had sliced through him. The dead body collapsed to the floor and the road was silent again.

Keto's mind swam in a daze as he came round. He blinked heavily and looked around for signs of life, how was he still alive?! He saw Yuffie standing over a limp body, trembling. His sword shook in her clenched fist before she dropped it with a clang. It echoed down the road and she fell to her knees. The clouds they had glanced at before were finally upon them and a cold rain started to fall lightly on Edge.

Yuffie's body collapsed on itself and she fell into a long sleep, the adrenaline rush gone.

Keto pulled himself up and dragged his feet towards Yuffie, checking she was still breathing. He crouched at her side and removed the hair from her face. He pulled his sword back in it's sheath and picked the unconscious girl into his arms. Keto kissed her forehead softly and pulled her closer as she shivered.

The search for Anna would have to wait until morning.

A/N: I'M SO SORRY!!! I know it's been about 3 weeks since I last updated and you all probably hate me but I've been so busy! I should have told you but I didn't really know how! I did tell you it was going to be a while before I updated but I didn't expect it to be this long! I had a show a few weeks ago I had to prepare for (which went really well, one of the best night's of my life) then the next weekend it was my birthday (16!) and it was carnival in my town this weekend (I was in that too)! So it's been pretty hectic! Plus I have rehearsals three nights a week and my teachers have decided to give me as much homework and coursework as possible! I'm just gonna say now that it might be quite a while before I have time to post another one! Though you can change that! Everytime I tried to sit down and write I had zero inspiration! Event though this story now has over 1000 hits (eee!) I only have 21 reviews? They're all from people who review every Chapter and are lovely! What happened to the rest of you? 12 people have this on their alerts! But thank you to the THREE people who reviewed the last chapter; **Asrialth**, **MinnieMouse8990**,and **TitanticPhan**. Thank you and sorry to you guys! To the rest of you, review and a chapter might come faster! I don't like being mean but I literally had zero inspiration for last time!! x


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: It's been a while, exam season is over and coursework is finished but there's another season coming up in May... Yay. I'll try and be better at updating soon...

Keto uses mild swear words when he's angry, sorry for any offence caused!

Quick catch-up ~ Keto's sister has been kidnapped by an unknown and Vincent took off after him. Keto and Yuffie tried to follow after him but were attacked by bounty hunters...

--

"You have... 29... missed calls and... 4... new messages."

"Vincent, where are you? We've been worrying about you for days! Yuffie and Keto went after you but I haven't heard from them since, call them okay?"

"Vincent, it's Cloud. Tifa's gotten worried since you left. What happened? Just give her a call to say you're still alive."

"Yo Valentine? You die or somethin'? Tifa's been goin' scitzo back home, ring her ya darn foo'!"

"Vincent, it's Reeve here. Where have you gone? AVALANCHE have been trying to contact you for days but have heard nothing. Cait Sith couldn't even follow your tracks! Just pick up the phone for once..."

Vincent snapped his phone shut with a grunt and slipped it back into pocket. That annoying thing had started jingling while he was hiding earlier again. He didn't understand why people these days relied on an appliance that never got signal when you needed it most. Not to mention the texts phone services sent you every few hours. He slipped the cell phone back into a pocket and straightened himself out. He wasn't much farther behind the kidnappers, but they were in a car. He had no time to sleep.

The rain had pattered out since he left the outskirts of Edge and a dark cloudy night stretched across the sky, a sliver of white hanging high above him. The light reflected off his golden shoes and into the vile marshes that surrounded the road, the short cut he was going to take was going to be dangerous. Vincent could see a dark barn sitting about a mile and half from where he was standing on the flat landscape, and a pair of head lights falling further away from him. He took a deep, calming breath and scanned the immediate area around him, using his mako enhanced eyes to look into the darkness. A small tuft of grass stood still around the puddles of endless mud, bubbling over and wobbling constantly. Vincent ran like a lithe cat across the unstable jellylike marshland and crouched on the tuft. He then started searching for another bulk of solid ground. This was going to take a while...

--

The hot water steamed as it hit Yuffie's bare back but she was glad to be in a dry inn. The power shower shovelled out water onto her and filled the room with steam. She felt her eyes beginning to droop slowly and a smile played on her lips. The water stung but it felt good to wash the dirt and rain off her. She pushed her hair out of her face and sneezed quietly.

The memories of last night were a far off blur, all she could remember was waking up in a cotton bed with a thick blanket draped over her. Her body had complained as she brought herself to a sitting position and looked around the room. How many times had she passed out now? Heavy mint green curtains filled the window but a little morning light drained through the crack and a small silver clock hug on the wall next to it. It was already 7:45. The light cream walls stretched around her in a square and she found herself lying in the middle of a double bed. A sofa the same colour as the curtains lay at the foot of the bed and a man lay squidged on top of it. His floppy brown hair fell in his face and the small blanket he had lay kicked around his ankles. He snored softly and frowned in his sleep. Yuffie stretched her arms out but immediately regretted it, her back seared in pain and a small ripping sound could be heard. When she looked down at the sheets she could see little blood pools staining the white cotton where she had lain. Looking down she saw white bandages covering her torso. After deciding to take a shower, she had to peel the bandage off and endure the pain of ripping them off the wound in her back. When she looked at them, they were stained a deep, dark red. Her breathing increased rapidly when she saw her back in the mirror. A huge reddish brown rip, starting at her right shoulder, extended down her back to her left hip. She wished her mind would remember something from the night before. The last thing the girl could remember was walking down a small passage way in the dark.

A small knock broke the relaxing sound of water falling and voice called out to her.

"Yuffie? Are you okay?"

"Uh huh.." She croaked, submersing her head into the falling water. Her body, although rested, still felt like it had worked over a hundred years of back breaking labour.

"How's your back?"

"Just dandy." The room was starting to turn to white mist and Yuffie's head span as she answered. She gently tugged at the shower controls and the flow of water ground to a halt. "Could you get me some fresh bandages?"

A soft shuffling came from behind the door followed by a cough.

Yuffie wrapped a cream towel around her chest and unlocked the door. A hand darted through the partially opened door and stayed there. It gripped three rolls of pure white cotton bandages. Yuffie eased them out of the stiff hand and peaked through the small gap.

Steam from the shower drifted out of the bathroom and Yuffie found herself staring at the back of Keto's slightly blurry head. "What's up?"

The pirate hung for a few seconds before dropping his hand and walking away. "Nothing." He muttered.

Yuffie frowned at his answer but shut the door again and started to replace the dressing around her middle. She carefully eased her clothes back on and looked into the frosted mirror. Her top didn't cover the bandaged area completely but what did it matter? She'd seen a lot worse. The muscles in her right arm kained as she tensed them, probably due to throwing too much, so she decided to bind that too.

She walked out of the clammy bathroom and back into the square room she had slept in. A cool breeze swam through the room and the smell of countryside filled Yuffie's lungs. The mint green curtains had been pulled back to reveal a small balcony beyond on which Keto sat, staring into the distance.

Yuffie joined him in awe. "Where are we?" She breathed. In front of them lay a view of green. The fields stretched out onto the horizon undivided by fields and civilisation. Below was a small white fenced garden full of white sheets dancing in the soft wind. Yuffie leaned against the white railing and breathed in deeply.

"The outskirts of Edge, beyond this is marshland." Keto answered. He averted his eyes from her but they strayed to the white dressing round her forearm. He touched the fabric lightly with the tips of his fingers, shaking. "...I'm sorry." He whispered, turning back to the landscape.

Yuffie stared at him for a moment before grabbing his shoulders to face him. She looked him straight in the eyes and pointed at her covered right arm. "You see this?"

Keto looked up and stared and the arm before something smacked into his jaw. He fell back in surprise and clutched his burning cheek.

"That's for thinking I was so _delicate _that I needed you to protect me! I can handle myself just fine and that means these bruises are _my _fault! Stop going all broken hero on me, I get enough of that from Cloud." The ninja ranted, trying out a few air jabs. "Let's get going, I wanna beat the crap into Anna's kidnapper before Vinny gets a try!" She yanked one of Keto's arm with her and ran full pelt out the door...

--

Vincent's trek across the marshes lasted him until dawn broke in the East. His shoes and the bottom of his cloak had turned an awful brown colour but he was at the barn now and that's what counted. Unfortunately it looked like the place was heavily guarded, even for a professional like the ex-turk. He would have to wait for nightfall to have the upper hand. A huge empty crate lay near a secluded part of wall and Vincent climbed into box and turned his phone off again, just in case someone happened to ring at the wrong time. At least that's what he told himself.

--

Most of the day went without notice. Only the sounds of animals broke through the wooden walls of Vincent's crate.

"Geez this place is eerie..." A voice whispered in the darkness at about dusk.

Vincent blinked in the darkness. _Is that.._ He shuffled forward slightly to try and hear the voices again but his crate creaked loudly under the pressure.

The footsteps outside stopped and all that could be heard were the crickets humming in the distance. Vincent pulled out his gun stealthily.

Two feet advanced towards the box.

Silence.

The lid of the crate was ripped off in a flurry of movement and a metal rod came into focus between Vincent's eyes. It rippled with lightning flashes. Vincent's gun was aimed at the strangers head but he lowered it after a couple of blinks.

"...Reno.."

"Well I'll be damned.." The red head muttered, lowering the electric rod. "If it isn't my old buddy Vinny Valentine!!" Reno pulled the ex-turk to his feet and slapped him twice on the shoulder.

"It's Vincent." He replied automatically.

"Whatever. Hey, what the hell are you doing hiding a old box of chicken feed?" Reno asked. Rude stood behind him with one eyebrow raised.

Vincent glanced at the crate he had been crouching in and saw a word printed on the side. CHOCOBO GREENS. _That_ was the strange grass at the bottom....

"Hiding."

Reno and Rude exchanged glances. "From what?"

--

"Ew ew ew ew EW!" The young ninja screamed as she pulled her foot out of the last of the marshland.

"I told you not to rush to the end." Keto scolded, trying to wipe his slimy hands on the grass.

Both teens were covered from knees down in think brown sludge that smelt like something from the Northern Crater! After nine hours of crawling through a disgusting swamp, Yuffie and Keto had made it to the other side of the marsh. The light had by now diminished to nothing and a clear black sky lay above their heads, though a faint bubble of warmth emitted on the horizon where Edge was located.

"I guess this is it.." Yuffie murmured. She pulled her Conformer out along with a few shurikens and walk towards the looming barn.

It seemed in good condition, for a barn that is. It was stained a chocolate brown colour with a huge pair of sliding doors at it's entrance, guarded heavily of course. The whole barn was about the same size as a large house with two floors and a gable roof.

"Let's find a back way." Keto grabbed Yuffie's arm, careful not to touch the injured one, and pulled her to the side. About a third of the way down two planks wood had rotted because of water damage. Keto brought a foot up and kicked the wall gently. After no signs of an enemy's advance, Keto kicked again, harder this time. The wood splintered after the third blow and Keto's foot pushed through. He then broke off the bits of wood around it with his hands to make a hole big enough for the two of them to fit through.

Keto stepped in first followed swiftly by a nervous Yuffie. The room was pitch black apart from the glow of dim lanterns placed on the floor. Their light only stretched for about a meter.

A small pattering noise fled towards them and Keto was gripped around the waist and pushed backwards. Looking down he could see nothing there but the force held onto him tight. "..I knew you'd come."

"Anna!" Keto exclaimed. He bent down to her level and tried to find her shoulders.

The girl materialised and hugged him again, her head buried in his shirt.

"It's you." He whispered, holding her tighter.

"I'm glad you could make it." A voice sauntered from the darkness in the barn.

Keto snapped to his feet and flickered his eyes across the darkness.

"It-" Anna was silenced by her brother's hand as he stepped in front of her protectively.

Uneven footsteps broke on the floorboards and stumbled towards a lantern. A pair of expensive shoes came into view along with a clouded pearl suit. A metal walking stick lay in one bandaged hand while the other lay limp by his side. More bandages wrapped their way around the man's neck and forehead and a pair of light blue eyes shined behind a smirk. His ash blonde hair masked his identity momentarily.

But soon it was obvious, there stood Rufus Shinra.

Keto's face become steel as he wielded the dragon blade. "You." He spat.

Before he could move, another person appeared from the shadows.

"Vincent!?" Yuffie shouted, taking a few steps.

"I understand this may be confusing for the both of you but please, hear me out." The man's voice floated like thick silk in the air, fluid.

"I don't have time to talk with a person like you." Keto yelled over him.

"I would advise you to listen to him." Vincent replied, arms folded over his chest.

Keto's eyes flickered to the ex-turk. "Why are you on his side?"

"Because I understand what's happening."

Keto scowled at Vincent but held his tongue.

"You and your sister have been a victim of misfortune. But unlike you may think, this was not Shinra's faul-"

"Like hell it isn't!" Keto snarled.

"He's telling the truth."

"And how would you know Valentine?" Keto scrutinized. He lifted his sword as a threat.

"A lot more than you."

"Vincent, don't bother arguing with him, he wants to know." Rufus interjected pulling up a hand.

"Don't talk about me like you know me!" Keto screamed. He was getting more and more worked up as the minutes ticked by. "Just tell me what the hell you're going on about!"

"As I was saying Shinra was not involved in your parents murder." Rufus continued. "I can see how you may view it this way but your perception is false."

"...How?"

"Shinra didn't murder you parents, Wutain soldiers did."

A/N: Don't worry! All will be explained in the next Chapter!

Honourable mention to;

**Asrialth**

**TitanicPhan**

**MinnieMouse8990**

**Bmonti**

**LiveLifeLikeNeverBefore**

I profusely apologise to you guys, you didn't deserve that long wait and I hope you carry on reading this story to the end, your reviews mean so much to me!


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: The plot gets really confusing here - seriously even I have trouble with it sometimes - but I've gone through every scenario thoroughly so there are no plot holes but if you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask.

Yuffie was the first to speak this time. "What?! That's impossible!" She shouted.

"Not entirely." Rufus replied, he had a coy smile on his face.

"Tell me. Tell me what happened." Keto's voice was surprisingly steady for a man in his position.

"Only eight years had passed since Shinra was at war Wutai and many extremists were still on a rampage. It was only a matter of time before one rebellious group got it inside their heads to kill a member of Shinra in revenge. Unfortunately it happened to be your father."

Keto's grip on his sword tightened at the man's flippancy.

"This particular group decided to kill the family as well and invaded your family home with intentions to kill anyone inside. Luckily only your mother was killed because you weren't home. They must have had... _other_ plans for Anna."

"How dare you!" Yuffie screamed stomping across the open space between the two groups. Vincent restrained her a meter away from the President. "How dare you speak of Wutai in such a way! No men of my country are that _disgusting_!"

Rufus turned his eyes to the young woman looking bored. "My dear every society has men like that. No civilisation is without it's faults, look at Reno."

"Hey-" Reno started to complain from the darkness but was stopped short when Yuffie spat at ground next to Rufus' feet and stormed away from him.

"Quite a lady." Rufus murmured to himself.

"Carry on old man." Keto demanded, his mind was spinning from the answers he was receiving but still nothing seemed to make sense. "If the Wutainese took Anna then how come she ended up in _your_ labs?"

"A good question. By luck one of our units happened to come across them at a check point. They killed the soldiers and took the orphan girl in. She was supposed to go to Midgar to an orphanage but papers got mismatched and she ended up in one of the cells used by Hojo for human experimentation. It was a small mistake, but a grave one."

"Are you saying my sister was held captive and experimented on for nearly seven years because someone mixed up the paperwork?!" Keto stammered. His breath was ragged and uneven.

"..It wasn't the most ideal situation..."

"Wait a sec, if this was all a misunderstanding, why did you kidnap her again?" Yuffie clutched her head with one hand and frowned in frustration, most of this was just going over her head.

"As fate would have it, another coincidence." Rufus clicked his fingers and something slumped in the blackness. Just visible in the furthest rays of candle light, the top of a man's head and a grey hand came into view.

Anna stepped behind Keto at the sight of the corpse and shivered.

"And we found this in his pocket" Rufus pulled a piece of battered, soft paper out of his white suit and flicked it towards Keto. It stuttered onto the dirt next to his feet.

Keto's tanned hands grabbed and flimsy paper and unfolded it carefully, frowning at what he found. "What does this mean?" He asked staring and the strange and foreign symbols inked on the yellowing paper.

"Why don't you ask the young Wutain." Rufus replied, gesturing towards Yuffie.

Yuffie looked between the two men and before shifting her way towards the note.

"_Unfinished business needs to be settled. Take the girl with pink hair hiding with AVALANCHE and kill her - subtly. Don't let anyone know who or what you are. We shall take the boy later"_ Yuffie's voice was but a whisper by the end of the letter.

"And who's signature is that at the bottom?" Rufus asked in his sickly smooth voice.

Yuffie's eye were fixed on the page and she swallowed, slowly. "My father's."

There was a moment of stunned silence before Rufus clapped his hands loudly. "Well, now that's settled I think I'll take my leave. So sorry your mission of revenge has come to nothing, but I'm sure you know how fix it." He chuckled to himself and turned against the flickering lights.

Keto's eyes snapped off the page and he strode across the space. The seventeen year old drew up his sword and thrashed downwards towards the ex-president.

A force from the darkness took the blow and shielded Rufus. The rush of movement snuffed out the few candles lit and the group was plunged into darkness.

"Don't underestimate me kid." The sweetness in his voice had disappeared beyond recognition. "I'm more powerful than you could imagine." He took a few uneven steps away before stopping again. "Your father was a good man, I had no reason to kill him." He walked further into the black void and the force holding up Keto's blade released, jogging after him.

Keto's knees buckled and he fell to the floor, a broken mess. Everything he had believed in had been smashed down in the past week, leaving him a shattered and empty man.

"There is no way backwards, only forwards." Vincent murmured.

Yuffie pocketed the letter and ran to Keto's side. "Keto..." She placed a hand lightly on his shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" He yelled, slapping Yuffie's hand away and stumbling backwards. His breathing was heavy and ragged.

"Keto-"

"Stay away from me! You're one of them!" He screamed, pointing at the cold body on the floor with his blade.

Dawn peeked through the cracks of the old wooden barn and shed grey light across the floorboards.

Yuffie tried to speak again but was cut off by a swing of Keto's blade.

"This is what you were planning from the beginning! You didn't want me. You wanted to kill me!" Keto's voice was uneven and crazy, like that of a madman. He looked around manically and shoved his foot through the nearest wall. He kept kicking the wood until it gave way to a small hole which he leapt through and out into the marshes...

--

"Well that was a great idea!" Yuffie ranted as Vincent, Anna and herself made their way slowly though the miles of bogs in front of them. "_There is no way backwards only forwards._" She yammered in a mimicking voice. "Yeah that was a brilliant thing to say to a guy who's just been told who killed his father and kidnapped his sister! Way to go on the social skills Vince!!"

The sun was steadily crawling upwards and hammering it's heat down viciously on the grassy tufts that lay scattered near and far, like little islands in a mud sea.

Yuffie prepared herself and leaped high across two meters of oozing, bubbling mud, landing in a precarious crouch. "And now I'm stuck with a depressed vampire and a 9 year old Invisible Woman!"

Vincent hopped lithely from one island to the next and waited for the two girls to catch up.

"If I'm such an evil schemer why has he left Anna with us, the whole reason we were out here in the first place was to save her and bring her back!"

"I'm sorry to cause you trouble" Anna mumbled, her form was fuzzing in and out of vision as she avoided the slime.

"It's not your fault kid, but man is your brother getting a punch when I see him!" Yuffie used her frustration to fuel her next jump, landing on the same tuft Vincent was standing on.

He turned unexpectedly and pushed the self proclaimed 'champion of the earth and the sky' off balance.

"Whoa!" She yelled, trying to correct herself by swinging her arms around.

A strong arm reached round her waist and pulled her upright, pushing her into his chest. Her heart beat quickened.

Vincent frowned at the young ninja. "..Why are you covered in bandages?"

"Oh just a little fight with some stalkers, t-they got what was coming to them." She stammered, she felt dizzy and sick, what was happening? She looked up at the ex-turk's concerned face, half hidden by his customary cloak.

"Mm." He grunted. "... I'm glad you're okay."

Yuffie blushed a bright crimson colour and cleared her throat. "Yeah well, nobody can beat me. I'm the greatest ninja in the world!" She stepped away from Vincent to try and clear her head and laughed nervously.

She forgot she was surrounded by mud. "Crap."

"..A ninja who can't seem to keep her balance." Vincent smirked down at the fallen Yuffie and headed on through the marshes.

"Oh for Gawd's sakes! Grossness!" She yelled and she sat in a pool of lumpy brown gloop.

--

One last piece of white blossom hung desperately to it's branch on the magnificent cherry blossom tree to the South of Wutai's pagoda. The last petal of the last branch of the last tree, hanging on for dear life. A sudden wind twisted it's way towards the tree, snaking through the town's houses towards the poor, defenceless petal. But the petal didn't wait, it didn't give the wind the satisfaction, it let go.

Now it wasn't bound by the wind, the petal floated where it wanted, wafting through the air. At last it found it's resting place on the hilt of a red sword, accepting it's fate.

Keto brushed the stray petal off his sword and walked further towards the giant red temple in front of him. He drew the sword.

"Stop!" Yelled a voice from behind.

He ignored it and walked up to a man at the entrance of the pagoda.

A shuriken buzzed past his head and stuck into the wall of the pagoda, moments later it's owner rushed by. She parried Keto's swing with her Conformer, standing her ground.

The shocked man behind her tottered inside.

"Stop it!" She shouted at him. "What's the point?!"

"Where's Anna?" He asked in what seemed like a calm voice.

"With the Strife's, safe from you!" Even though she was holding off Keto's sword, her feet were slowly moving backwards under his force.

"From me? It's your family that kills people!" Yuffie could see the anger flaring to life in his eyes.

"Because we were at war! Look what our town's become because of Shinra, they were protecting themselves! Yes the war might have been over but look at you! Ten years and your still trying to get revenge, same as them!" She couldn't hold him for much longer.

"I'm not afraid of hurting you Yuffie." He whispered, his breath so close she could feel it on her cheek.

Yuffie's foot hit the first step leading up to the pagoda and pushed her off balance. She fell back against the stairs and winded herself. Her ankle was twisted where she had broken through the wooden steps and she couldn't move out of the way.

Keto leered over and brought up his sword. "I'm not afraid of anyone!" He screamed.

"Anyone but me."

Click.

A/N: Who knew there were so many ways to describe mud! Not much more to go now! I hope you're enjoying this story, please review! ^.^

Some character profiles - so the story makes more sense:

Name: Keto

Age: 17

D.O.B: June 6th 1993

Likes: Pranks

Dislikes: Vincent

Info: Parents killed when he was 10, lived by himself for 7 years. Brunette with green eyes like his mother. 5ft 12".

Skills: Sword skills, calming people down (though not himself).

Personality: Let's his heart rule his head, passionate, quite emotional, the total opposite of Vincent.

Name: Anna

Age: 13

D.O.B: August 10th 1997

Likes: Books

Dislikes: Loud noises

Info: Parents killed when she was 6, taken to Hojo for experimenting and didn't escape for 6 1/2 years. Has the power of invisibility, hair and eye colour created by Hojo. She was a brunette like her brother before. 5ft 2"

Skills: Observation, good with bow and arrow

Personality: Quiet, timid, head strong

Name: James

Age: 48 when killed

D.O.B: September 25th 1955

Info: Became a turk under Vincent at 22, got very experienced in his job but never took a promotion because of family, died at 48 at the hands of a Wutain soldier. Had 2 children and a wife. Black hair, green eyes. 5ft 10"

Skills: Gun expert, observation.

Personality: Optimistic, observational, passionate.

LOL Spell check for Hojo comes up with 'Homo' XD

Thank you to;

**MinnieMouse8990**

**TitanicPhan**

**Yes-4-Yuffentine**

**ikutoJS**

for reviewing so wonderfully, I love you guys!


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Bit gory sorry guys ^.^

Thank you to; **Asrialth**, **ikutoJS**, and **MinnieMouse8990 **for reviewing the last chapter! I've come so far and this is the penultimate chapter!

*Note: You won't get the dust bunnies reference if you haven't watched My Neighbour Totoro!

Vincent's gun lay pointed directly at Keto's head. "One wrong move and that's it."

"Why are you protecting her?" Keto growled, he hadn't let go of his sword.

"Put your weapon down."

"Why did you follow me here?"

"Put your sword down or I'll make you."

"Hm." Keto smirked. "How?"

One of Vincent's bullet pierced through Keto's hand and he instantly dropped the sword, like it was on fire. "That's how." He trained his gun back on Keto's head.

Keto screamed in agony and stared at the gaping hole in his hand, surrounded in a circle of black gunpowder.

Yuffie's heart was pounding furiously as she watched the two, her head was swimming and black dots kept invading her vision. There was a sharp stabbing pain in her gut.

Keto grabbed his sword from the ground and scrambled away from the angry gun slinger. His run was jagged but he disappeared soon enough.

"Oh ****"

Vincent turned to look at the young ninja, sprawled across - and through - the golden wooden steps. The thing was, that golden paint was quickly turning red.

"That's not good is it?" Yuffie looked down at wooden debris twisted through the side of her stomach, dripping in her blood. Her eyelids drooped slowly and her grip on reality loosened. "Whoa Vinnie where'd you go?"

Vincent crouched beside her, ripped off part of his cloak and pressed it against the wound. "...It's just a scratch, but you're loosing blood.." He cradled her in one arm to keep her steady.

"Mm, you smell good Vinnie." The thief murmured.

******

Laughter filled the warm summer air as cicadas chirped and an inviting blue filled the sky from horizon to horizon. The flowers bloomed a rainbow in the private gardens behind the pagoda as a little girl ran from her nurse. The garden was a great hiding place, filled with secret waterfalls and footbridges to hide under, perfect for someone as tiny as Yuffie.

She giggled to herself behind a low wall as she watched her distressed nurse search thoroughly. There was no WAY she was having a bath! She liked having mud in her hair and keeping the soles of her feet black. No one else seemed to care, why should she? But then again no one seemed to notice her at all, like she disappeared after she was born. Someone else came and took everyone's attention away, now they just looked sad when they saw Yuffie and told her they had to deal with Shinra. What was so special about Shinra? Did she act like 'a proper little girl'? She must really be something if she was more important than Yuffie. But when she asked to meet Shinra, everyone just laughed her, it wasn't fair!

A sliding door lay open near the pagoda. An escape route.

Yuffie's nurse had already made her way down to the orchard, now was her time to make a dash for it. She took a deep breath and pushed off the wall with stealth no nine year old should have. Her feet brushed gently through the lush grass that lay beneath her inky black soles and she ran full pelt through the door inside.

Instantly her eyes filled with unsuspecting dust bunnies but they soon disappeared and Yuffie skipped down the long corridors at the back of the pagoda.

"I don't care!"

Was that her father's voice?

Yuffie steered herself to a halt outside a partially open door and peeped through at the men inside.

Sun rays blasted through the open blinds and cast great white stripes across everything, Yuffie laughed at her fathers striped expression. Two men clad in black stood to attention in front of her father, silver blades hung all over belts, their faces hidden by black.

"I don't care if we are having peace talks with Shinra, do you know how many of my people they've killed with their damn SOLDIER?! Even when this war is over my country will not be able to recover from the damage they've done. There must be a way to fight back unseen..."

"MISS KISARAGI!!" A very large lady stormed down the corridor with a towel in one hand.

Uh oh...

******

Keto stared down at Yuffie's silent face in the darkness. She'd been unconscious for more than a day now, but she was recovering fast, luckily.

After running into the caves of Da Chao and having time to clear his head, he thought of what an idiot he had become, hurting the girl who was trying to help him. It was obvious she had no idea what her father was doing. What had he become?

"Get out. Now." A pair of scarlet eyes stared out from the shadows of the room. No lights shone in the small bedroom but moonlight floated through the windows, only illuminating about three quarters of the space.

"I wanted to apologise." Keto kept his hands free of his sword to show no intent.

"Get out." He repeated, not taking one step out of the darkness.

"Just tell her I'm sorry, for everything that happened, and everything that's going to happen." There was twitch in Keto's hand and he felt a yearning to stroke Yuffie's beautiful sleeping face.

But that twitch was the last straw for Vincent. He pushed his cape aside pulled out his shotgun. "Going to happen?" The ex-turk took a few steps out into the moonlight, but he still looked just as menacing.

There was a pause as Keto chose his words. "... I've spent a long time thinking about this, but I can't just let it go. Godo sent orders for me and my family to be killed, I have to do something. I know Yuffie hasn't got anything to do with it and I won't hurt her, but I have to settle this score."

"Revenge isn't as sweet as you think it is."

"That maybe so, but I don't care. It's a matter of pride. I've requested an official duel between myself and Godo, that way either I kill the man that ruined my life or die myself.

Vincent lowered his gun. "You know that will hurt Yuffie either way."

"That's why I'm saying sorry." With that departing word, Keto jumped fluidly out the window and vanished.

--

Groggily, the bright sunshine awoke Yuffie from her silent state, bringing her back to reality. Her head was heavy and dark but she managed to sneak a peek at where she was.

She could see stereotypical wooden shutters on the windows, wooden floorboards, and white walls. "Wutai?"

A red blob sat in the corner of the room.

"Vin-" Suddenly the memories of what happened flooded back into her head. "Keto!" She shouted, sitting upright and looking around.

"Keep still." Vincent warned, catching Yuffie as the head rush caught up with her. "You've been out for two days."

Yuffie didn't complain about staying longer in Vincent's warm arms. "I blacked out again? You know that's the forth time in a week..."

Vincent propped up her pillows and lay her against them. "Hm.." He grunted.

Yuffie pulled the cotton sheets away from her stomach to survey the damage. "Ewwwwww..." She groaned, picking at the black congealed blood surrounding the right side of her torso.

Vincent grunted in agreement again and turned towards the door at the other end of the room.

"W-Wait where are you going? You can't leave me here!" The injured ninja protested. She tried to get up but then decided it was probably best not to...

"Telling the nurse you're awake." He replied as he carried on through the door.

Yuffie huffed at her confinement and glared at the door entrance, did he really think she would let some stuck up nurse examine her and make her stay in bed for another couple of days?

Soon after a podgy, middle aged, Wutain nurse waddled her way into the room. "Alright Miss Kisaragi how are you feeling this morning?"

"Well I've just scooped out half my stomach with a wooden pole and lost pints of blood, how do you think I feel." She asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"It was a wonder you didn't hit any major organs Miss, but luckily that wonderful man Mr Valentine carried you to safety and saved your life." The nurse sighed and looked over at the door as if Vincent would become her own knight in shining armour.

"Ch'a like that would happen, Vincent wouldn't save my life if Leviathan was chewing my own head off!" Yuffie snorted, wrestling away from the nurses cold hands.

"Oh but he did, he stayed next to your bed night and day just to see you got better! He's also been talking to Master Godo everyday!" She'd been removing all the blood soaked bandages around Yuffie's middle and replaced fresh ones in their stead. She now moved onto feeling Yuffie's forehead with the back of her hand and checking her pulse.

"He was talking to the old man? What good would that do?"

"Well after that young man from Junon turned up, he's been trying to pick a fight with Master Godo since! Mr Valentine has been persuading him against it but Master Godo's just about lost his tether!" The nurse tucked Yuffie's sheets back in exceptionally tight and started clearing up the bloody bandages.

Yuffie thought about the nurses words. A man from Junon... "What does this guy from Junon look like?" She asked.

"Well very handsome in my opinion, at least I wouldn't turn him down!" She gossiped. "Very rugged, with messy brown hair and he always wears these open necked white shirts, they look gorgeous on him! Of course who knows what'll happen to him after today, Master Godo's a _very_ formidable foe!"

There was no mistake about it, she was talking about Keto. "What's happening today?" Yuffie grilled her in a panicked voice.

"The fight darling! Master Godo got asked for a formal duel, just like you asked him a few years ago. He's put it off for a couple of days but they're putting an end to it today, why do you know him or something?"

Yuffie's breath caught in her throat. _What?!_ "Vincent!!" She screamed.

The cloaked man ran into the room with a raised eyebrow, hand on the hilt of his gun.

"Get me to the pagoda now!" She demanded, pulling the nurse's suffocating blankets off her again and trying to stand.

Vincent strode over and grabbed Yuffie's arm before she toppled over. Her weak frame made him feel more protective over her than he had ever felt. "But-"

"Cut the crap Valentine!" He flinched at her use of his last name. "Take me to the pagoda now or so Gods help me!"

Vincent paused as he looked into Yuffie's large, mahogany eyes. All he saw was fear.

Together the couple limped their way out the door and down the corridor that lead outside. The sun pumped its rays down at full force in the little tourist town and few people were out in the siesta hours. They walked much faster than any other people on the street, which confused some passers by. Even though Yuffie was still walking, Vincent took most of her weight and used his strength to propel her forward with every step.

Much sooner than should have been possible, they reached the pagoda. The steps Yuffie had fallen through days before had now been covered with unpainted pine wood and secured insufficiently. The duo flew up them and raced into belly of the beast.

--

Keto took a deep breath and looked at his foe, a balding old man. He felt the swords weight in his hand and tossed it to and fro, checking its balance. The crimson blade flashed in the dim light of the top floor of the pagoda.

"Are you ready" Godo asked.

Since he was six, this man had been causing him pain and suffering, but why was he still feeling regret? Whatever the reason, the pirate swallowed his feelings and faced the leader. "Yes."

Godo smirked and clicked his fingers.

His figure blurred in the air, as if caught on a bad video camera, different parts of his body jerking right and left in the purple mist that surrounded him. The mist grew twice in size and a great shadow blocked the light behind it, something was lurking inside. The fog cleared and a huge monster stared back at Keto. The face wasn't much of a face, instead a large yellow mask with black holes where eyes should be looked at him. The head turned to the left and another head replaced it, this one a fiery red with a long snout, tongue and horns. A third head also lay behind, but it could not be seen from the angle Keto was now cowering at. It was draped in a variety of bright, royal colours with a large scimitar in one hand. The hand hurtled towards Keto with great force and sunk into the floor next to him.

Keto rolled away with expertise and immersed himself in battle.

The duel continued for several minutes before two people burst on the scene. One tall and dark, draped in a russet, ragged material, the other covered in white from chest to waist. She was limping.

Keto winced at their timing and dodged another ever advancing attack from the beast. "What are you doing here?!" He screamed from his stance across the room.

"Saving your ass that's what!" Yuffie yelled back, limping towards her mutated father before a strong hand held onto her.

"No." Vincent stated, pulling her back.

Yuffie stared at him in protest.

"It's too dangerous, Keto would never forgive himself if something happened to you again." He explained, keeping a firm hold of her. "Besides, you're injured."

The fiery ninja knew he was right but she didn't want to admit it. She instead turned her attention back to Keto. "Please stop! Please call it off!" She pleaded. "As soon as you say the word he'll retreat!"

Keto deflected another blow and rolled between the monsters legs and out the other side, using it's height as a disadvantage. "No! I started this and I'm going to finish this!" He shouted back.

"Please!" Yuffie was almost in tears by this point."I can't lose one of you!" She begged. "Stop old man, stop!" But of course Godo would only listen to his opponent.

Keto was breathing heavily by this point and was barely being able to dodge any attack Godo put to him, let alone the fact that he was getting stronger every second.

Suddenly the demon stopped attacking and brought it's hands together. A large dark green orb grew between his hands as he brought them apart. It hovered in the air in front of the audience.

"Oh crap..." Yuffie whispered. "He's using Bio 3... Keto! Get of the way! NOW!" She screamed as hard as she ever had!

But it was too late. The green sphere shot through the air and smashed straight into Keto's chest, being absorbed by his body straight away. Keto still stood, his breathing now constricted and harsh as he strained against the force of the virus infecting his body slowly but surely.

Godo used this as his opportune moment.

"NO!"

Keto saw it coming but didn't bother avoiding it. His body ached and all he wished was release. He wished for release from the cloud that had hung over his life since the beginning.

So, as he looked into Yuffe's eyes from across the room, silently remorseful for her sake, he let fate take its course.

Godo's blade sank through the centre of Keto's chest...


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Thank you to ikutoJS for reviewing the last chapter!

This is a very short chapter, I felt bad leaving it where I did. The next update will take longer but it will finally be the last chapter - I hope! Review please!

His body was on fire, a strong sensation of relief and pain rushed through him as he jolted to the floor. There was a trickling sensation filling his torso as if something was leaking. He could see blurs but nothing solid.

A voice broke through his trace. "No!" The plead was so powerful Keto's eyes seemed to focus again.

A dark head came into vision, with a soft face and tearful eyes.

"No no no!" She whispered.

Keto felt his body being lifted from underneath and he was placed in her lap, head held by her warm hands.

"Yuf-" He couldn't seem to breath properly. "Yuffie." He managed to spit out.

"Yeah it's me, I'm here, I'm here." She could hardly hear her own words.

He smiled weakly at the girl. "You were always here, always beside me."

"And I'm gonna stay with you, just hang on!" She pulled him tighter.

Keto shook his head slowly. "..I think this is it for me..."

"No! No it's not! We can cure you! There's gotta be some way!" Her tears were blocking her sight now but she turned to Vincent for help.

He shook his head.

"There's always a way...." Her voice cracked.

Keto tried to laugh at her but a metallic fluid poured into his mouth. He coughed, spewing scarlet droplets onto his white shirt. "Will you promise me you'll look after Anna for me."

"No, you're gonna look after her! You're gonna grow up and watch her get older, and watch her get married and you'll become an uncle." One of her tears dripped onto Keto's cheek. "And we'll be laughing about this whole thing!"

"Promise me." He repeated.

Yuffie couldn't speak, a small cry escaped her lips.

Gently, Keto raised his hand and held Yuffie's cheek, wiping away her tears. "Thank you."

Yuffie sobbed quietly.

He pulled Yuffie's head down to his level and kissed her softly on the forehead. "I-" He swallowed. "I love you."

Yuffie couldn't feel his hot breath on her face anymore. She lifted her head slowly to look at the young pirate's face.

It was still.

"NO!" Yuffie screamed, clutching onto his soft shirt and weeping on his chest. "No!"

He finally made the choice, and let go.


	13. Chapter 13

_Four days later._

The spring air was fading away as humidity set in. Lush grass that surrounded Wutai was slowly turning to a crisp brown and cracks appeared in the soil. The blossom had past its peak but odd petals still littered the floor, stained with dirt. Summer might have come, but it was hardly time to celebrate.

One girl sat alone in a garden. She sat with her knees tucked in as she stared at one spot. It may have been the hottest time of the day but that didn't deter her, she still sat looking. Looking at her mistake.

A tear dripped onto the soil that had been yearning water for so long. Memories flashed in her eyes but she never lost her focus. A screwed up note lay in one of her hands. She could hear footsteps approaching her right but she kept her eyes in the same place, she knew who it was anyway.

Vincent took a seat next to the ninja and stared at the grave in front of them. He didn't say anything, he didn't have to, he just sat with her.

"Anna's been told. She didn't cry on the phone, but I think it was just shock. She's going to stay with Tifa in Midgar." Her voice was monotonous and low. "I still can't believe it." She muttered, sniffing. "...When we killed all those Shinra soldiers I never really thought about it, about their families and friends. What have we done?"

Vincent didn't reply.

"..We didn't have to kill anyone." She finally broke contact with pale coloured grave stone and looked at the ground, sobbing quietly.

It was time for Vincent to speak up. "If you take the blame for their deaths it will eat you up inside. We had to kill them. It was for the sake of the Planet."

"For the Planet?" Yuffie screamed, staring at him with wild eyes. "We killed those people for a Planet that's already beyond recovery? All that's left is cracks across the world and a new disease that nearly wiped everyone out! How is that worth it?" Her voice cracked at the end and she fell into Vincent's chest whimpering.

He held her close and thought over her words, had it all been worth it?

Yuffie squeezed the paper in her hand. "I showed the note to my father."

Vincent looked down at her.

"The note that was with that soldier, ordering him to kidnap Anna..." Yuffie hesitated.

"Go on." He encouraged her.

"...It's real." She whispered, screwing it up for a final time. Her eyes were flared with sadness and hatred at the same time.

Vincent's face hardened and he looked over at the pagoda. He missed the war between Shinra and Wutai but he knew of the losses on both sides. Looking back at the hunched girl clutching on to him, he knew what he had to do...

The gun slinger pulled himself and let Yuffie fall out of his arms, hovering above her.

Yuffie tumbled onto the floor with a thump and looked up at the man who had thrown her. "Vincent?" She looked up at him in alarm.

"Come with me." He stated, walking away from the small grave and across the garden.

"V-Vincent!" Yuffie called after him, still a mess on the floor. After no answer, she uncurled herself and jogged after him, muttering quietly.

A cloaked figure hoisted his light body smoothly over a wooden fence and his golden boots fell upon the soft, green turf beyond. His coat was open and flapped viciously in the wind. The man walked five meters away from the fence and looked out at the view. He stood at the edge of a large cliff in Southern Wutai, beneath valleys and lakes twisted their way through the land which was green and ripe.

A girl soon followed, her breath unsteady and heavy. She heaved her body over the small fence and rested against it, her arms resting on her knees. "Vincent!" She rasped. "Why hell have you been running for so long?" She demanded.

A small smile played on the man's lips. "..To show you this." He replied, staring out at the landscape.

Yuffie frowned and looked up for the first time, stepping forwards to meet Vincent. Her breath caught as she stared out. "Whoa." She breathed.

It was hard to believe they were on the same continent as Wutai, now a humid, dry, parched town. The horizon bloomed in rich colours of green and blue, lakes and rivers intertwining through the view.

"There's still life..." She whispered, staring out.

"There's always life." Vincent stated.

Yuffie turned to him and to see he was looking straight at her. She blinked.

A moment passed between them before Vincent spoke. "...You made the right choice."

Yuffie broke eye contact and looked at the ground. "No I didn't, if I had just stayed out of his business he might still be alive..." Her voice was barely audible.

Vincent grabbed her waist and pulled her face up to meet his. "Listen to me, it wasn't your fault, there was nothing you could have done. If you blame yourself you will waste your life away, it's taken me thirty three years to see that." He looked deep into her sorrowful eyes, wishing her to hear his words.

But she was thinking nothing of the sort. Vincent had one hand still round her waist and his cool metal gauntlet resting on her cheek... _Oh. My. Gawd._..

He seemed to be confused by her surprised face and frowned. "...What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing!" She squeaked, trying to not to make eye contact again.

Something seemed to click in Vincent's mind and he pulled her face up again. His cloak still fluttered restlessly and encircled the couple.

The two stood there for a moment before Vincent pulled her face even closer and kissed her softly.

He made his choice.

A/N: Nearly a year's worth of work, thirteen chapters, twenty nine thousand, four hundred and forty five words, forty three reviews and counting, fifteen favourites, eighteen alerts and two thousand, six hundred and ten views.

Whoa.

That's pretty huge.

I've finally finished a story that means quite a lot to me, and I'm so happy with all the positive reviews! I wanna say a special thank you to a few people;

-TitanicPhan ~ When _haven't_ you encouraged my writing? Never, I'm glad to call you a wonderful friend on fanfiction and on DeviantArt.

-MinnieMouse8990 ~ I don't know you at all but you've always left a review for each of my chapters and been an inspiration for me to keep going with this story.

-Asrialth ~ You have always given me positive feedback not just about the story but of my talent as a writer, and that is greatly appreciated! Plus half of this story came from your ideas so thank you so much!

-ikutoJS ~ You only found my story recently but you've been a wonderful reviewer and I really appreciate your support!

To everyone else who reviewed, or just put up with me for the past year and my sporadic updates, thank you so much! Being on fanfiction has boosted my self confidence as writer like nothing else- especially this story - and helped me with my English grades! I did the final exam a couple of weeks back and I'll be sure to tell you my final grade, though I received A*s in my coursework! I'm incredibly proud of this story and I hope you guys have enjoyed this as much as me.

I hope the ending was satisfactory, I might be adding an epilogue to the end, but don't expect that for a while!

If you would like to contact me I'll always reply to questions in reviews or if you send me a message! I won't be as active on fanfiction as I used to be but I'll always reply to those who ask about me! Plus, you can find me on DeviantArt and youtube as well, same username and all :)

If you enjoyed this story please look at my page for more Yuffentines! I'm overjoyed that Beneath The Cherry Blossom Tree has reached over four _thousand_ hits! I've also started a new story titled 'Yuffie in Wonderland', in which I have interwoven my favourite game of all time with the classic tale of Alice. It's not a romance though.

On a final note, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

splodge82 x


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